Part Of Bond 20 To Be Filmed In Alaska

What a news time,! Aston Martin, the supposed script, it’s all happening right now. But it’s time to revisit an old rumour. It’s old news that part of Bond 20 will take
place in Alaska. It first came across my desk back in
mid-2000 when ‘The Mirror’ announced the replacement
of Dame Judi Dench with Edward Woodward. Needless to
say those rumours have since been dispelled. It was
also The Mirror that told us that Bond was going to
Alaska. So is he? Stefan Zürcher seems to think so.

Zürcher, who has worked on On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye and The World
Is Not Enough revealed in an interview with the Swiss
TV Show Top OF Switzerland (SF1) that Bond 20 will
“…will be shot partly in Alaska.”

With Zürcher’s connections to Bond that could seem
like good information, however, my good friend Tim
Roth from www.jamesbond007-online.de reports that
Zürcher’s interview was dated the 3rd of March 2001,
making the news fairly old now.

And while it’s better late than never, were Bond 20
locations being scouted as early as March 2001? Quite
possibly. So there is a strong potential for a ski
sequence in Bond 20, and it seems that this sequence
could be filmed in Alaska but not necessarily set in
Alaska.

With filming to begin in January it shouldn’t be long
now until we find out more! If you know any more
details please e-mail them to me at
[email protected] or discuss this in the Bond
20 Forums!

Bond Will Drive Aston Martin V12 Vanquish In Bond 20

MGM, EON and Aston Martin have officially confirmed on JamesBond.com that James Bond will drive the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in Bond 20:

JAMES BOND AND ASTON MARTIN ARE REUNITED
007 will drive Aston Martin in Bond 20
marking the 40th anniversary of the franchise.

LOS ANGELES, CA, August 23, 2001 – James Bond, the legendary British secret agent, will drive an Aston Martin again in the next 007 film it was announced today by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Eon Productions, and Aston Martin. The 20th installment of the longest running and most successful franchise in cinema history, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, is due for release in 2002. Bond 20 marks the 40th anniversary of the franchise that began in 1962 with Dr. No. Pierce Brosnan will make his fourth appearance as James Bond in the film, which will be directed by Lee Tamahori (Along Came a Spider, The Edge) and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Production will begin at Pinewood Studios in January, 2002.

The recently launched V12 Vanquish will be the fourth Aston Martin that Bond has driven. The association with the marque began in 1964 with the film Goldfinger when the DB5 was fitted with “optional extras” such as ejector seats and rockets.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli say, “James Bond and the British Aston Martin car have had a long and successful partnership in our films, and we are delighted to welcome the latest model, the Aston Martin Vanquish, to appear in the 20th film of the series.”

Robert Levin, MGM’s president of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, adds, “We are thrilled that Bond fans will get to see James Bond back in the Aston Martin – especially for Bond 20, which marks such a momentous milestone in film history.”

Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, Group Vice President, Ford Motor Company and Chairman, Premier Automotive Group, says: “When people think of James Bond, the first car they think of is Aston Martin. For all of us that love the 007 films, it is great news that Bond is back driving an Aston Martin, this time our latest and most sophisticated model ever. We are also pleased to be working with MGM and Eon Productions, and through the wider support of Ford Motor Company we will be offering our full range of cars to the production.” Dr. Ulrich Bez, chief executive of Aston Martin Lagonda, says, “I am sure James Bond will recognize some of the styling cues on the Aston Martin Vanquish. He will find it technologically advanced and perfectly suited for the type of work he does today. This agreement comes at a really important time for us. Aston Martin is going through some major changes. The best reflection of this is our new V12 Vanquish, it combines elements from our heritage, but also clearly shows the direction of the companies future.”

The V12 Vanquish is the latest in a long line of cars from one of the most famous names in the motor industry. It is at the leading edge of automotive design and combines an aluminium and carbon fibre body, Formula One-style gearbox, and 460bhp V12 engine. More than 700 cars have already been pre-sold around the world. Deliveries to customers in the USA start in September 2001, with the V12 Vanquish priced at $228,000.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (NYSE: MGM), through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. subsidiary, is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of entertainment product, including motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. Its operating units include MGM Pictures, United Artists Films, MGM Television Entertainment, MGM Networks, MGM Distribution Co., MGM Worldwide Television Distribution, MGM Home Entertainment, MGM Consumer Products, MGM Music, MGM Interactive, and MGM.com.

In addition, MGM has acquired a 20 percent ownership interest in four of Rainbow Media’s successful national cable networks — American Movie Classics (AMC), Bravo, The Independent Film Channel (IFC) and WE: Women’s Entertainment (formerly Romance Classics), and holds equity interests in 14 television channels internationally. For more information on MGM, visit MGM online at www.mgm.com

Also, a new logo was on JamesBond.com which symbolises the 40th Anniversary of the series.

Thanks to Zencat for bringing it to my attention! There is a post that has already been started in the forums here.

Tamahori Will Direct & Casting News

While denying the fake Bond 20 Script that has floated around the net recently EON Productions have also revealed some further information on James Bond 20.

Lee Tamahori was all-but confirmed as the director recently by Variety. EON Productions have now confirmed that Tamahori is on board the project as director has already begun work on it;

New Zealand-born Lee Tamahori was on board as director and had started working on the film…

Also revealed was a small note on the casting for the film,

She said casting should start in the next couple of weeks and they hoped to start shooting in January next year.

Bond 20 should is almost in full swing. And there’s just over four months until filming begins! You can discuss Tamahori and the decision to hire him as the director in the Bond 20 Forums! And yes you can discuss anything Bond 20 related in there as well! There’s already a discussion in progress in this thread. We’ll see you there!

Bond 20 Plot Debunked By EON

It’s plainly obvious now as to why Bond 20 @ CommanderBond.Net didn’t publish and script excerpts, because the script was always considered a fake. We admit, there were some elements that made us comtemplate the validity of the script, but c’est la vie.

Reuters have revealed;

LONDON (Reuters) – It sounded like a dastardly plot from a James Bond movie — an unknown spy infiltrates Hollywood, steals a blockbuster script and reveals all on the Internet.
But just like a typical Bond villain, a Web site that claimed it had the details of the next film about British secret agent 007, has failed in its mission, the producers said Wednesday. They dismissed the supposed plot outline as pure fantasy.

The Bond fans’ Web site, www.bond20.com, which is dedicated to providing information about the 20th film in the series, said it had seen the script for next year’s movie which it said would be titled “Final Assignment.”…

But the Bond film production company said the plot was the product of a fan’s overactive imagination and had left them neither shaken nor stirred.

“It’s fabricated. We have spoken to the producers about it and I’m afraid it’s a fan who’s done a James Bond script — it’s not ours,” a spokeswoman for Eon Productions told Reuters.

The script fiasco began on another Bond 20 site, Bond20.Com, when they published excerpts of the script several weeks ago. Today they commented, “We still announce it’s a first treatment for the movie. The script was sent to us by someone close to Danjaq. This person wanted to keep anonymous, what we respect.”, sticking by their guns and claiming the script came from a respectable source.

Personally, I’m glad this whole saga is over. This site had been investigating the people who claimed to have ‘stolen’ the script, all avenues of research had so far concluded that the script was false. But now we know.

Bond 20 @ CommanderBond.Net stands by their original claim that the script is fake. We personally feel that none of these elements will appear in the next film. We could be wrong, but we doubt it!

You can of course discuss this in the Bond 20 Forums, which would be greatly appreciated. There are plenty of topic threads floating around about the script and they are a fascinating insight into how this mystery unfolded. And don’t forget to check out Zencat’s latest thread, Why Fake A Screenplay? where we’re all discussing why someone would want to possibly write such an extensive and fake screenplay!

Speculation: The Title Of The Next Film

The title of an upcoming Bond film is always anticipated and the same goes for Bond 20. Also anticipated is the fact that the title won’t be the Attack Of The Clones nor Final Assignment. Forum user ‘Praetorian’ has written this speculative piece in the Bond 20 Forums, and as a beginning let us take a look at some of the rules of a James Bond title.

• A person’s name (e.g., Goldfinger, Dr No, Octopussy, The Man With The Golden Gun);
• The name of a thing – usually with military implications (e.g., Goldeneye, Moonraker, Thunderball);
• A government phrase (e.g., Licence to Kill, For Your Eyes Only, O.H.M.S.S.);
• A witty play on a famous catch phrase (e.g., Live and Let Die, You Only Live Twice)
• An invented phrase (Diamonds Are Forever, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Spy Who Loved Me, From Russia With Love).

And of course there are the more common words to look out for,

You will have no doubt noticed that certain words pervade Bond titles: “love”, “die”, “live” or “living”, “never”, “kill”, “You or Your”, “For” (whether by itself or in “Forever”).

Finally there’s popular speculation that Bond 20 will have a single word title. This theory is based on both Connery and Moore’s fourth outings (no one else made it this far) which were respectively Thunderball and Moonraker. And while two films don’t gaurntee anything in reality, the most popular choice around the Bond 20 Forums seems to be Shatterhand (coming of course from the Fleming novels).

Feel free to post your own speculation in the Bond 20 Forums. Try this thread in which Praetorian first made his post. See you there!

Vic Armstrong Confirms Script Is A Fake

This is an unconfirmed report, but it seems that the Bond 20 Script may be a fake after all.

I have recently contacted Vic Armstrong (TWINE 2nd Unit Director) regarding
the “Bond 20 Script”. He has told me that he has his own copy of the script
and that it does not include the details given on various websites scripts.

That comes from ShockTroop22, so a big thank you for taking the time and effort to contact Vic.

For those of you who aren’t quite following, I’m referring to the ‘leak’ Bond 20 Script titled “Final Assignment”, which has received a lot of heat over the past weeks. Bond 20 @ CommanderBond.Net’s position, as stated in previous news, has been that the script is not the genuine item it claims to be.

Like a tonne of other people you can discuss this in the Bond 20 Forums at http://forums.commanderbond.net/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Headlines&BID=38 where there are plenty of threads about the script. The one that deals most with ‘debunking’ the script is this one. So stop on by and check it out, and I’ll see you there!

Will Ingrid Devatova Star In Bond 20?

In an exclusive Bond 20 @ CommanderBond.Net can now inform our loyal visitors that England-based model and pure babe Indrid Devatova has not auditioned for any role in the upcoming James Bond film.

Devatova told us this,

I’m afraid I haven’t been screen tested for latest Bond movie. I didn’t even know about it.

Well there you have it. Another girl gone from the ranks of being cast in the next Bond film. But one has to ask, does this mean the ‘kick-boxing’ bad girl won’t be in Bond 20 either? You’ll recall that reports informed us that Devatova was trying out for such a role. Now that one rumour turns out to be false, one has the question the second part of the rumour.

Either way, only time will tell.

Finally, we must apologise to Ingrid. In our last report taking a look at the rumoured Bond girls we stated her date of birth was the 31st of January, 1970. We were wrong. It’s actually the 5th of December, 1975. But we must also thank her for personally contacting us!

Spy Report: The James Bond 20 Script

It’s been circulating the internet for sometime now and has received major attentioned from a lot of websites. It’s really hard to say where one stands and what is true and what isn’t, so let’s try and just deliver the facts.

I must warn everyone that this includes heavy film spoilers and for that reason you’re going to have to highlight the text to read. If you can’t highlight the text (perhaps you use WebTV?) then you can select our ‘Printer Friendly Version’ function from above (just below the articles headline) to view the full story.

Highlight To Read: For reasons of simplicity I’ve split up all the details into simple point format, hopefully it will help clear up issues. Please also note that this article assumes that the treatment ‘Final Assignment’ does exist, which it does, but CommanderBond.Net still insists that the script is a fan treatment and not official work.

Well that is all we can cross verify at this stage. There is plenty more information floating around the internet so do expect more comments from Bond 20 @ CommanderBond.Net, we can assure you that they’re coming your way! Please do check our the Bond 20 Forums. There are about five or six different topics floating around the board about this ‘leaked’ script. I must warn you that a lot of these topics contain ‘spoilers’.

Finally is this the Bond 20 Script? Heavens no. A lot of people seem to indicate or atleast believe it is, while a lot of others are dead certain it isn’t. Personally I have mixed reactions. While it’s professionally written (ie. in proper script format) and has some concepts that have come across my desk from extremely reliable sources there are somethings that just don’t add up! Feel free to e-mail me with your own thoughs, [email protected].

Another Look At The Rumoured Girls Of Bond 20

With it being known that Pierce Brosnan will play James Bond, as it has for sometime, interest now turns to other aspects of Bond 20. Variety has all but confirmed that Lee Tamahori will direct Bond 20, so where do we turn now? To the Bond girls of course!

Since the last time we featured an article like this a fair bit of news has emerged. One thing that we can be sure of is that within the next few months we will know a lot more about Bond 20 including the actors invovled. Here’s a list of some of the girls rumoured and our thoughts on them:

Mariah Carey

Birthdate: 27th of March, 1970

Birthplace: England

Another American singer interested in a role in Bond 20 apparently. Having just finished her first film, which is yet to premiere, Carey could be an interesting idea for Bond 20; but then again we heard the same of Whitney Houston. Personally I doubt we’ll see Carey in the project, especially after her recent ‘break-down’ of sorts.

Ingrid Devatova

Birthdate: 31st of January, 1970

Birthplace: Slovakia

A model and actress based in the UK Devatova was rumoured to be screen-testing as a kick boxing girl for Bond 20. The origins of this rumours could never be fully tracker but I’d personally say that Devatova has the potential for atleast a minor role in the series.

Minnie Driver

Birthdate: (Unknown)

Birthplace: Slovakia

Having played Irina in GoldenEye Driver is well known around EON Productions. After more success in recent films it’s quite possible that Driver would be a lot more marketable on todays market, therefore she has more chance of getting a role. While EON have been known to cast unknowns actors such as Denise Richards have become quite well known before getting their roles but haven’t done a huge amount of work. I’d say it’s the same in Driver’s case.

Kirsty Gallacher

Birthdate: 1976

Birthplace: Scotland

Gallacher revealed herself that she was trying for a role in Bond 20, articles revealed it was for the part of a kick-boxing bad guy. While she’s had little acting experience I can only personally imagine that the kick-boxing role is a minor role meaning it isn’t exactly her acting skills producers were after. I’d say she was still in with a chance.

Whitney Houston

Birthdate: 9th of August, 1963

Birthplace: USA

This is the first and only rumour confirmed by MGM and EON, who both confirmed that Houston was in talks with EON and Producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli would both meet with Houston at some stage. If she will be in Bond 20 she’s already signed the contract. So I expect we’ll know soon enough! But she’s probably the most ‘official’ thing we have so far!

Daisy Lang

Birthdate: 4th of April, 1972

Birthplace: Bulgaria

Lang is another of those ‘boxing-girl’ rumours, which would make sense as she is a professional kick-boxer with a small bit of film experience. Whether or not she’ll appear in Bond 20 is of course up to EON, who apparently have already screentested her. Just as I think Kirsty Gallacher and Ingrid Devatova are in with a chance, I’d say Lang is as well.

Gretchen Mol

Birthdate: 8th of November, 1973

Birthplace: Connecticut

Mol was rumoured so very early in 2000 by a magazine called Domain. By now, late in 2001, my guess would be that this cute blonde will not be in Bond 20.

Charlize Theron

Birthdate: 7th of August, 1975

Birthplace: South Africa

Theron was first mentioned in an interview by Pierce Brosnan, he commented that he wouldn’t mind seeing her as the Bond girl in the future. Does this line her up for a role in Bond 20? I very much doubt it. While I’m sure that Brosnan has some creative input it wouldn’t gaurntee her a role in the film, the final decision would of course lie with EON Productions.

Michelle Yeoh

Birthdate: 6th of August, 1962

Birthplace: Malaysia

The rumour about the return of Yeoh’s character Wai Lin is one of the most interesting. Yeoh herself told reporters that her agent was holding discussions with producers about returning to the next Bond movie. Will she return? It would be a first for the series if she returned as the same character and personally I doubt she’d return as anything else.

There have been plenty of other names in there. The best thing to do is check out the Bond 20 Forums! All the rumoured Bond 20 Girls have been discussed there so it is a definite section to check out! For full information though search through the Bond 20 News archive, which has the full news about all rumoured girls. I must thank David Ebersole who originally wrote a similair article to this, this is just a more updated version.

Sunbeam Alpine

The Sunbeam Apline in Dr. No was to be the first car we would ever see James Bond driving. 007 drives the Alpine to Miss Taro’s residence located high-up in the mountains. During the journey, James Bond is given chase by the villainous “3-blind-mice”.

• Manufacturer: Sunbeam
• Model: Alpine
• Top Speed: 101.1 mph
• Acceleration: 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 13.6 seconds
• Engine Capacity: 1592cc

During the high-speed chase, James Bond is able to drive underneath a construction crane, which causes the “3-blind-mice” to swerve off of the cliff trapped inside their funeral car. During its fall the car explodes, killings its occupants. Bond tells the workman operating the crane that they “…were on their way to a funeral”.

This is first example we see of James Bond’s legendary driving skills. The chase marks the first of many which will set the standard for modern vehicle action, innovating some of the most unique and awe-inspiring stunts ever created.

Outside of the film, the Sunbeam Alpine was a successful rally-car. Winning competitions throughout the world, it was rarely beaten and won its teams many cups and trophies throughout its racing career.