Robbie Williams Doesn't Want To Be James Bond

Only a few months after EON Casting Director denied rumours that Robbie Williams would be considered to take the title role of James Bond the hit singer has denied reports he ever considered playing James Bond.

It was reported the singer’s gig at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
was watched by one of the producers of the James Bond movies.

“To put paid to all the James Bond stuff, I’ve never wanted to play
James Bond,” he told Radio 1.

“The people who run James Bond, who are lovely people, said they didn’t
want me to play him.

“I’ve never asked or wanted to play James Bond. I did the Millennium
video as a pastiche of James Bond and I left it there.”

Every man wants to be James Bond doesn’t he? Well I’d say the same for Williams, but perhaps it’s just not a career change that he’s after! But well done to him for clearing this up!

Update:

A big big thank you to ‘SmokeGoddess’ for sending this in. In the magazine OK she’s found more of the original interview which we hadn’t previously included. It would seem that Williams knows some of his Bond quotes.

“Rumours have been circulating that you’re keen to play James Bond after
Pierce Brosnan?

I don’t want to do James Bond. I met Barbara Broccoli the other night and
she’s really sweet. But it’s like, I’m from Stoke-on-Trent and I speak with a
high pitched voice.

But Pierce Brosnan’s Irish…

Yes, but he’s suave and sophisticated while I pee off balconies from hotel
rooms!

I don’t want to do a James Bond movie where I’d have to be politically
correct. I want to slap a girl on the bottom and go: “That’s nice luv, on
your way, pet. Man talk.” That’s what Sean Connery said in one of them:
“Felix, meet Bunny. Bunny, meet Felix.” He slaps her on the bottom and goes:
“Now off you go Bunny, Man talk.” That’s great.”

If that’s how Williams would play it well, I don’t think the Bond producers would jump at the chance. But as to whether or not Robbie should record the title track of a future James Bond film? Definetley.

Mariah Carey To Be Bond Girl?

We’re being made to believe that Bond 20 will be full of singers turned actresses. Everyone will remember the huge news about Whitney Houston appearing in Bond 20. Now it seems Mariah Carey might just as well.

As tipster ‘Spacebabe’ tells us

Eon Productions are reportedly in talks with the 31-year-old Carey about a
possible Bond Girl role in the 20th film of the franchise.

Carey apparently was offered the role after meeting Bond star Pierce Brosnan
at a party in London.

A source close to the world’s biggest-selling female artist is quoted as
saying “She is really excited. The producers are considering writing a
character just for her.”

If you believe that, you believe anything. Why would Brosnan meet Carey at a party and suddenly recommend her to EON Productions to star as a Bond Girl in Bond 20? Are we expected to believe that the Bond producers really work like that? I hope not.

This news came from Dirtfish Movie News. Also Tim from The 007 Generation (in German) tells us that this rumour has also appeared in the German media.

Feel free to discuss this in the Bond 20 Forums in this thread created for the discussion of Bond 20 Girls. See you there!

And again a big thank you to Spacebabe and Tim for sending in the news!

Wrapping Up Replacement Rumours

I had originally decided not to report this, afterall I feel I already have. But after a fair few requests I’ve decided I would. Afterall, perhaps it’s not been clear on the site.

To clear up the whole issue of who will play James Bond in future movies, not just Bond 20 but Bond 21 as well, an EON Spokesperson has declared;

“Pierce Brosnan will play James Bond in the forthcoming production and for the foreseeable future.”

And while we will report future media reports of replacements (it is afterall our job) please be sure that no decision to replace Pierce Brosnan would be made till after Bond 20 is completed. Futhermore, it has been rumoured, but never confirmed, that Brosnan has already signed a new contract which states he will do a total of 7 Bond films. We will definetley see Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Bond 21, it is only his role in Bond 22 that could possibly be ‘up-in-the-air’.

And finally a big thank you to NJ, David Ebersole and anyone else who sent it in for sending it in! Sorry if I’ve forgotten you.

Daisy Lang Rumoured As Bond Girl

All the other Bond girls now have some competition, should this latest rumour be true.

Blonde world champion boxer Daisy Lang is hoping to be a knockout
success after being asked to audition as the next Bond girl.

Bulgarian by birth, Daisy now lives in Germany, where Bond producers
tracked her down to beg her to audition for the role as 007’s latest love match.

The WIBF Junior Bantamweight World Champion is nicknamed ‘The Lady’ in Germany, where her good looks have knocked out boxing fans.

She says: “This casting’s like a title fight for me. If it works, then it’s a dream come true and I’ve been dreaming about Pierce Brosnan for a long time.”

Daisy is no stranger to Hollywood and has already starred with the
likes of Jean Claude van Damme, Val Kilmer and Mel Gibson. This seems to be the only possible thread that would allow for this rumour to be true, at least she has been before a camera before.

Action producer David Varot says the boxer is a Hollywood dream. “Daisy has the makings of a real action star. She’s got everything it takes – talent, good looks and the necessary sparkle.”

This rumour is being discussed in the Bond 20 Forums. Check it out here!

MGM Comment On Official Bond 20 Advert Art

You may recall a few days back we posted an article entitled ‘Official Bond Advert Found‘. Well in relation to that story a new article has appeared on the official James Bond website proclaiming:

The recent posts of the 40th Anniversary art and Bond 20 art are not
official. Please continue to check www.jamesbond.com for official art and news.

I’m not quite sure how to take that. I haven’t seen any 40th Anniversary art (if anyone has please e-mail me, [email protected].

But onto the Bond 20 Art. This is what I posted:

If that picture isn’t official, then why does it appear on the official MGM Web site? And as forum user ‘Zencat’ pointed out:

I was just at MGM where I saw some ad art for Bond 20 in their annual report folder…

That, I believe, would make it official art.

Are MGM mistaken or just referring to another picture that has surfaced on other websites? My conclusion is that a site that MGM has visited, or perhaps a newspaper, has incorrectly printed that this is the official Teaser Poster, something which it is not.

For further information visit the Bond 20 Forums, in particular this thread which Zencat started. It would be great to hear other peoples interpretations of what MGM have released, so please post your own!

More Bond 20 Directors Mentioned

The rumour mill for the Bond 20 Director has grown today with ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ going to print with an article on MGM’s choices for directors.

The two names they have mentioned are

• Stuart Baird. To date Baird has only directed two films: 1996’s Executive Decision starring Kurt Russel and 1998’s US Marshals starring Tommy Lee Jones. However, he has to his credit as an Editor an awesome amount of films; including the recently released Tomb Raider and Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible II. Other to his credit include some of the Lethal Weapon series and Superman I and II.
• Stephen Hopkins. Having worked primarily as a director Hopkins directing such films as Lost In Space, Blown Away and Predator 2.

This news comes as a surprise to me. Informant ‘Fozzco’ had heard that the director had already been signed up for the film. Director Michael Apted, who directed The World Is Not Enough, was announced in Variety in August of 1998 so we’re expecting the official announcement to come in July or August this year; meaning there isn’t that long to wait now.

The list is still growing as to who will direct Bond 20. And you can discuss it in the Bond 20 Forums. There are quite a few threads relating to the director including this one, which is the better of them. And if you’re looking for the other reports we had on Bond 20 Directors check out the Latest News section for the old posts.

And finally a big big thanks to ‘Beamer’ for sending in the report!

Nigel Havers Back As Bond 20 Baddie

It seems the Nigel Havers rumour just won’t die. Bond 20 @ BHM followers will recall that he was the very first person rumored at playing the villain in Bond 20 way back in September 1999, in fact he was the first rumoured role for Bond 20. You must remember, The World Is Not Enough didn’t premiere till November 1999.

Back the we reported

According to the Mr. Showbiz website, Broccoli is in negotiations with British actor Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, Empire of the Sun) to take on the next film’s villainous role. The site quotes the actor from Matthew Wright’s London Daily Mirror column, saying, “I’ve always wanted to play a Bond baddie. It would certainly be playing against type.”

Now in a new article in the Daily Express, kindly sent in by forum use SpaceBabe, it seems that Havers has confirmed that he will have a role in Bond 20, though it may not be the main villain. The reason he’s sure about a role? Producer Barbara Broccoli promised it to him, afterall they are great friends.

“…I want to be a villain,” [explains Havers], “and Barbara, who is a great friend, has promised me I’ll be in the next fil. It will be a lot of fun to play against Pierce.”

If Havers, and of course the Daily Express, are telling the truth then he may land the major role. The article states that he won’t as it has already been offered to actor Kevin Spacey. However, the Spacey rumour was denied by EON Productions some time ago. So perhaps Havers will take the role of villain in Bond 20. Of course nothing is confirmed till all parties sign on the dotted line.

If you’d like to view the full article please click here, it is an image. But don’t just read the article, read some reactions in the Bond 20 Forums! In the Bond 20 Forums you’ll find this thread which SpaceBabe has just started about the article! See you there!

And finally a big thank you to SpaceBabe for sending in the article!

Some Rare Trivia From 'Tomorrow Never Dies'

Every Bond movie has that little bit of trivia behind it. Some things we don’t always notice. In no particular order here some of the trivial bits of information from Tomorrow Never Dies…

• The DVD Commentries reveal that actress Michelle Yeoh did most of her own stunts. The commentry only reveals that Yeoh did not do three of her own stunts. The first stunt double was used when Wai Lin is strangled from behind and pushed towards a wall by her assailant (this is during a Saigon fight scene), Wai Lin runs up the structure beam and flips behind her assailant. The second time Michelle Yeoh was replaced was actually when she was replaced by a dummy on top of the BMW motorcycle as it jumped from building to building across a helicopter. The third time was during the same chase sequence, most of the back shots of Michelle Yeoh are actually of her stunt double.
• The ships used in the film are Type 23 Duke Class Anti-Submarine Frigates. The interior shots were all filmed at HMS DRYAD ship simulator, and most of the personnel in the background are real Royal Navy personnel. Most of the dialogue and commands are very accurate, though some has been modified so the viewing public can understand it. The Royal Navy signed a contract with the Bond producers, EON Productions, that then allowed them to use James Bond in their adverts for a short period of time.
• The number plate of Bond’s BMW 750iL is “B-MT 2144”. This ties in with his Aston Martin DB5’s number plate “BMT 214A” (used in this film and GoldenEye). The original movie Aston Martin, (from Goldfinger), had “BMT 216A”, which could not be used for legal reasons.
• The descent down the Saigon Headquarters of CMG was to be originally shot using CGI, that is fully animated, according to director Roger Spottiswoode. However, this proved to difficult and in the end a 7-storey section of wall was constructed that was used as a Green Screen.
• Producer Michael G. Wilson makes yet another appearance in the film. This time he plays one of Carver’s employees. Namely the one who released the video tape of the President in the motel suite with the chearleader. Now that I would like to see…
• The original title of the film was Tomorrow Never Lies, which makes sense when you consider media mogul Elliot Carver was creating the next day’s headlines in advance, then causing those events to happen. However, a typing error caused the name change. There are several versions of the story. One states that the typo was on a press release, the other states the typo was on an internal memo.
• Actress Teri Hatcher was three months pregnant when she filmed her scenes as Paris Carver. Did anyone notice? No. She still looked damn fine in suspenders.
• In an interview to promote the films release Teri Hatcher revealed she took the role to fulfill her husband’s lifelong dream of being married to a Bond girl.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for some behinds the scenes look at the filming of Tomorrow Never Dies, and in particular some deleted scenes that never made it to the film!

'TWINE' And The Rumoured Titles

Like all of the recent James Bond films ‘The World Is Not Enough’ had its fair share of rumoured titles, and titles that, well, never made it.

It’s official working title was aptly ‘Bond 19’. TWINE is afterall the 19th official James Bond film. This title was used by both EON Productions, the films producers, and MGM, the films distributor.

The next working title adapted for TWINE was ‘Bond 2000’, that’s what we’re told anyway. It was reported that this title was used by EON Productions only back in 1998. Whether or not it was actually used it unknown, but atleast one media source reported it’s use.

Of course by late 1998 actual full length titles were circulating throughout the media. And like those that are surfacing for the next Bond film they were of course false. The first of these titles that appeared was ‘Death Waits for No Man’. I can’t be sure where this title comes from of course. It was no doubt reported by a tabloid somewhere in the world. This rumoured title is of course based on a popular phrase and the notion that death comes like a thief in the night and waits for no man to have concluded his journey in life before he loses it. It is quite similair to the title of one of John Gardner’s novels ‘Death Is Forever’.

Another title soon appeared again in 1998. It was ‘Fire and Ice’. Ice and James Bond rumoured titles have become very popular in deed. The 20th James Bond adventure has been dogged by the rumoured title of ‘Beyond The Ice’. There is something very popular with Bond and Ice indeed. Perhaps the same people are making these rumoured titles up?

Moving on to 1999 the title ‘Pressure Point’ popped up. Why this rumour ever came into existance I cannot tell you. Pressure Point was already an MGM movie. It was in fact a 1962 MGM movie starring Sidney Poitier. Would MGM use the same title twice? I don’t think so.

Of course in 1999 the title The World Is Not Enough was revealed, but strangely enough EON had denied it for quite some time before the announcement. Later on it was abbreviated by TWINE by most everyone, and officially for promotional purposes.

Finally I’m told the title ‘Dangerously Yours’ did pop up at some stage. You can guess, yes it was only a rumour. It is no doubt a very Bond-esque title. And has only ever been used for two films, both from the 1930’s.

So there are all the titles for the 19th James Bond film! And just to re-iterate:

• Bond 19
• Bond 2000
• Death Waits for No Man
• Fire and Ice
• Pressure Point
• Dangerously Yours
• T.W.I.N.E.

© Daniel Dykes, 2001

Eon Productions Confirm Butler Rumour Is False

I hate to say I told you so, so I won’t. But it’s the reason that I didn’t reprint the rumour when it came to press about three days ago.

Apparently, Gerald Butler himself confirmed that he would take over from Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in a future film, possibly Bond 20. However, Eon Productions have now told TeleText UK that these rumours are all false:

A report in a Scottish newspaper that Wes Craven’s Dracula 2001 star Gerard Butler will be the next James Bond has been dismissed as “nonsense” by Eon Productions.

A spokeswoman for the 007 company told Teletext: “There is no truth in this story whatsoever. Pierce Brosnan must be a bit miffed with all this talk about his job.”

But Eon Productions says: “Pierce Brosnan is James Bond and there are no plans to find a new James Bond.”