James Franco In Die Another Day?

It's an old rumour that has started being recycled across the internet again. In the first week of this month, entertainment news source Entertainment Weekly reported that American actor James Franco will appear in Die Another Day.

Franco, best known perhaps for his recent role as Harry Osborn in Spirderman, has not revealed any details on the role, nor confirmed that he actually has one. However, according to Entertainment Weekly they know the name of his character, they just can't reveal it.

There are several possibilties as to a character that Franco could play. If his nationality is to be considered he could play an American soldier, who we're told still feature in Die Another Day. However, Franco's age may be a reason to reconsider such a theory.

If you'd like to discuss this news please visit this thread in the Die Another Day Forum!

Thanks to Jason for sending in the news.

Anna Edwards Cast In Die Another Day?

The IMDb listing for Die Another Day has recently updated to include actress Anna Edwards as a cast member.

If Edwards has been cast, as yet there is no official confirmation, her part in Die Another Day will be her third credit role. To date, she is only credited by the IMDb with two films, Hera Pheri and Kartoos, both Bollywood Films.

CommanderBond.Net will feature further information on Edwards' involvement with Die Another Day as it comes to hand.

Until then, please discuss this news in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums!

Thanks to 'Jeff007' for reporting the news!

Footage Screens At Cinema Expo International

Footage from Die Another Day was recently shown at the Cinema Expo International in Amdsterdam. So far, it hasn't been revealed what footage was screened, however, sources for CommanderBond.Net have suggested that scenes from the Ice Palace and the pre-title sequence were shown.

The footage has been reported as being approximately 8 minutes in length and reportedly screened before 'Minority Reports', however, Minority Reports wasn't scheduled to be shown on June 25 so it is possible the screening took place before Windtalkers.

The screening, organised by 20th Century Fox, was attended by Pierce Brosnan and close to one thousand industry insiders.

Thanks to PaulZ108 for sending in the news. If you'd like to discuss it, please do so in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

Setting the Night On Fire…

PC Zone features an interview with Michael Condrey, PC Producer of "James Bond 007 in Nightfire", which is due to release. Additionally we are given some information on locations Bond has to travel on his mission.

INTERVIEW: SETTING THE NIGHT ON FIRE

We chat to the producer on the PC version of shooter James Bond 007: Nightfire.

He gets the fast cars, he gets the gadgets, he gets the guns, he gets all the women – git – and at the end of the day he always gets the bad guy. Yup, James Bond rocks. And the prospect of stepping into the tuxedo and living the life of the hero on PC has got us all wobbly with excitement.

In development at Gearbox Software, shooter James Bond 007: Nightfire on PC is going to see the British special agent on the trail of megalomaniac Raphael Drake. A combination of stealth gameplay and adrenaline-pumping action, it'll see you trotting all around the globe as you try to put a stop to the schemes of the evil, cackling villain.

Drawing on the Bond movies – and, so we've been told, Bond game Agent Under Fire – Nightfire will contain many locations and characters familiar to fans of 007 and his universe. Fort Knox from Goldfinger will be represented in game-form as will the space station from Moonraker, and Odd Job with his metal-rimmed hat and the giant Jaws will also play part in some shape or form.

We recently got the chance to sit down with the producer of Nightfire on PC, Michael Condrey, so we thought we'd pick his brain for some juicy details to find out what's in store.

You've already explained that the PC version of Nightfire is substantially different from the console versions. Could you go into these differences in greater detail?

Condrey: Yeah, absolutely. We really want to focus on the strengths of each platform, so the consoles have different specs and there are different gameplay aspects that they focus on. With the PC version we've done some interesting things – an example would be level-specific layouts. We might share locations – all versions have an Austria level for example – but the way we lay out the Austrian level in the PC version plays on that platform's strengths.

We have PC-specific levels as well, stuff we've done only for that platform that you won't find on the consoles. And of course, the control method differs because you have a mouse and keyboard, so the way you interact in levels is quite different to the console versions. Then there's the multiplayer component for the online players, which is specific to the PC and allows us to take full advantage of people playing both on LAN and Internet.

And finally there're the hardware capabilities. With the latest nVidia technology and processor speeds available we've been able to push texture resolutions to a higher level.

So how would you persuade someone to buy the PC version of Nightfire over the other console versions that are going to be available?

Condrey: Hmm, that's a tough question. I think the console game is going to be a great game, and if you own a console you should definitely buy the console version. If you have a PC, you should buy the PC game. So if you have both, you should really buy both, as each offer different experiences and focus on different things. The console version has its racing levels, whereas the PC version is the only version that'll have online capabilities. For me the online scene is when first-person shooters get really exciting.

If I wanted to get online, fight against my friends and have some fun on the Internet, the PC product is the only product that'll allow you to do that?

So what's so exciting about the multiplayer features in Nightfire?

Condrey: I think for me, right off the top, it's the first chance to get Bond out there in the multiplayer arena. To be in the Bond world, to be able to play against Odd Job on the Fort Knox level using your gadgets… everything that makes the last forty years of Bond so exciting, to see that finally online… I think that's where it's going to be at. Plus we're supporting all the multiplayer modes that people have come to know and love.

How many players will multiplayer support?

Condrey: Our goal is to support up to 32 players simultaneously.

You mentioned Odd Job as a playable character in multiplayer. Will there be a range of classic characters available that you can play?

Condrey: Yeah, that's the goal. The goal is to take the best of the last 40 years and tie that in to both the environments and the levels and the characters that you play against.

Can you tell us about some of the things that are in the game that you've taken from the Bond universe?

Condrey: Sure. As you've seen today, we've got Fort Knox from Goldfinger, you'll see the space station level from Moonraker. You'll see characters such as Jaws that we've brought back, as well as characters that may come back from Agent Under Fire. It's kind of the whole spectrum of both the game history and the movie history – there's quite a lot to draw on.

Pierce Brosnan is used in the PC version. Obviously getting that is great from a marketing point of view as he's a great figurehead. But part of playing a first-person shooter, and especially a James Bond shooter, is about becoming the character, about becoming Bond yourself. Before it's been an anonymous Bond which almost made it easier to imagine yourself in that position. Do you think, conversely, that there's an argument that says that you lose that sort of immersion by having a Bond in there who's as recognisable as Pierce Brosnan?

Condrey: I personally think that this year, with Die Another Day coming out, it's on everyone's mind what Bond is. For me, actually seeing Pierce as the character helps me believe more who Bond is. Previously, the unknown Bond was a guy in Bond's world but we didn't really connect with him. With Pierce we connect with him, we recognise that he is the genuine, legitimate Bond of today. This is true for myself, and I hope this is true for consumers, that they actually make that same connection they make when watching the film.

Have you been restricted with what you can do with the character now that you're using Pierce Brosnan?

Condrey: MGM and Danjaq, who are the owners of the Bond license and property, have been great partners. They certainly have a very strong property that they want to protect, and I respect them for that. They've worked really closely to make sure that we understand their needs, and have helped us understand what Bond would do in his world.

I wouldn't say they've been restrictive at all, they've just been great partners and great in sharing expectations. It hasn't changed how we've developed the game at all.

Console first-person shooters are still coming of age, and they're not quite as hardcore as their PC cousins – PC shooter fans are very purist. In terms of that, and in terms of the competition that's out there, what do you feel that you're offering that's new to the genre?

Condrey: It's an interesting dichotomy in first-person shooters, because certainly there is a very hardcore audience that loves its first-person shooter experience. But we're also seeing that mass-market PC games are able to draw in a lot of consumers as well. For example, Harry Potter on the PC and The Sims on the PC have been hugely successful. So we want to try and address the needs of both groups. We've tried to introduce things like tuning on our multiple difficulty levels, so that a new gamer can come in, set it on Easy, and be prompted with a few hints and things to help him along.

But if a hardcore gamer comes in and wants a challenge, they can set it on a harder setting and go out there and struggle to succeed. We've tried to address both sides of that, and I hope that we've done a good job.

Will Halle Berry Return In Bond 21?

Halle Berry's character Jinx has been the most speculated and debated character of Die Another Day to date. It all began with Berry's revelation that Jinx was a villain, then there was some backstepping with Berry saying
her character wasn't actually a villain.

While her exact role to date isn't quite known we'd like to present two pieces of 'evidence' which could shed more light on Jinx. And if it sheds no more light, it should definetley add to the speculation.

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)

The first bit of information to be presented is one recently discovered,
however, it is dated. It comes from a BBC America news clip of the press
conference in Cadiz. It’s dated sometime in April 2002. A frame from the
interview is below;

If one pays careful attention to the caption under Halle Berry’s name you’ll
note it reads, The New Blofeld.

So is Halle Berry actually the films villain? By this stage Berry had
‘confirmed’ she’d be appeared in Die Another Day as Bond’s ally.

To add weight to the theory that Berry may actually be the films villain are
Pierce Brosnan’s recent comments.
In a recent interview Brosnan stated that when Bond turns to Jinx, “even she
turns out to be something that she’s not”.

So is Jinx the films villain? And more importantly, will she return for Bond
21?

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

Purvis And Wade Not Yet Signed For Bond 21

In brief news, in an interview with English newspaper "Express" screenwriters Neil Purvis and Robert Wade have revealed that they haven't yet signed to write the 21st James Bond screen adventure.

The pair commented, "You can't presume anything in this business."

Seemingly, their return depends on the success of Die Another Day which will be released this November.

What Is Jinx's Role In Die Another Day?

Halle Berry's character Jinx has been the most speculated and debated character of Die Another Day to date. It all began with Berry's revelation that Jinx was a villain, then there was some backstepping with Berry saying her character wasn't actually a villain.

While her exact role to date isn't quite known we'd like to present two pieces of 'evidence' which could shed more light on Jinx. And if it sheds no more light, it should definetley add to the speculation.

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)

The first bit of information to be presented is one recently discovered, however, it is dated. It comes from a BBC America news clip of the press conference in Cadiz. It’s dated sometime in April 2002. A frame from the
interview is below;

If one pays careful attention to the caption under Halle Berry’s name you’ll
note it reads, The New Blofeld.

So is Halle Berry actually the films villain? By this stage Berry had
‘confirmed’ she’d be appeared in Die Another Day as Bond’s ally.

To add weight to the theory that Berry may actually be the films villain are
Pierce Brosnan’s recent comments.
In a recent interview Brosnan stated that when Bond turns to Jinx, “even she
turns out to be something that she’s not”.

So is Jinx the films villain? And more importantly, will she return for Bond
21?

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

Unsolved Mysteries

There are Unsolved Mysteries out there in the Bond universe, questions that have plauged Bond historians for generations. Mysteries of characters, events and all sorts of things, things from the world of 007 that don’t look quite right. Many have tried to put answers to these questions, and many have succeeded. Today, we are going grab our spade and bucket, and dig deep into the proverbial sandpit that is the James Bond universe. Our quest? To investigate some of these points of confusion within the Bond films and hopefully solve the riddles once and for more. If all goes to plan, we shall succeed where many others have also succeded. So hold your noses folks, we’re going in.

1 – Where do the villains get their employees / henchpersons?

Some of the films main villains have a small army of guards and guard related staff, along with the usualy henchman with an adnormality ofcourse. The first Unsolved Mystery of today is just where do the Criminal masterminds get these people from? Do they advertise in the newspaper? I can picture it now.. “Wanted, potential Guards and/or Strongmen to aid in destroying the world, must have exprience, must be prepared to work night shifts”. Somehow I don’t think that can be it, I never see these ads. And in any case who would want to work for a super villain? Blofeld did some terrible things to his employees when they made mistakes, one got kicked with a posion tipped shoe, another got the electric chair, one got to go to “sleep with the fishes” only the ‘fishes’ in question were in fact piranhas. These punishments were for honest mistakes like a typing error or failing to kill James Bond. Though despite his harsh work policies Blofeld never ran out of willing helpers, either he pays well or his employees aren’t with a Union.

2 – What sort of parents would name their children ‘Pussy’ or ‘Plenty’?

Not many people seem to notice this, and thus this question has remained unasked for quite a long time. Sure those sexually suggestive yet slightly implassable names provide a good laugh, but Isn’t anyone curious as to what Mr and Mrs O’ Toole were smoking when they named their daughter ‘Plenty’? Is it a traditional family name perhaps? ‘Named after her father perhaps’ thats what Bond asked at the casino. What aspirations did the Galore’s had when they named their daughter Pussy? Did they have a pilot in mind? I doubt it. It must be terrible for these women to have names that raise amusement everytime they introduce themselves. Some parents really are cruel to their children. I know my parents would never do such a thing to me, my sister Amy, or my brother Yabba Dabba Doo.

3 – Isn’t it abit too coincidental that his name is GOLDfinger and he’s obsesed with GOLD?

Hmmm, this is an interesting one that seens to go unnoticed amoungst fans, but the answer to it is no. I don’t think its too much to swallow that his name happens to be ‘Goldfinger’ and the key to his passion is Gold, I find that quite reasonable. But of course, if he were obsesed with fingers then that would be a different matter altogether.

4 – How come Bond in free fall catches up with the plane in the GoldenEye opening?

Many upon many people have critized this and complained about it. People seem to cringe when they see it. “How could Bond catch up with the plane?” they ask in their whinging nitpicking voices. I feel like telling them its only a movie and that they should get a life or a girlfriend or something like that, but, I will admit, it is a legitimate question. My first method of reasoning is that its a plane, it was build for the persific purpose of staying up in the air, thats the sole point of its existence. Its has these huge wings to create wind resistance, Bond doesn’t. My second and prefered method of reasoning is ‘Its just a movie, get over it”, also, its hardly the most immplasuable thing that’s happened in a Bond film, now is it?

5 – What happens to the Bond girl after the end of the movie?

Perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery of them all. Where does the girl who finishes up in Bonds arms at the end of the movie go? There is never any mention of her in the next movie, no indication that Bond broke off the relationship. In quite a few of the films Bond and the girl seem to get very close indeed, certainly without any indication that their relationship will end like so many of Bonds have. Maybe Bond has all his conquests locked up in his basement. That would explain why they never comeback to say hello or to demand child support for the baby they claim is his. Surely Bond would have landed one of these beauties pregnant by now. We never see anything to suggest condoms are used and even then they are only work 97% of the time. There would no doubt be a dozen or so James Bond Juniors running around, unless he’s infertile, but that is another unsolved mystery for another day.

6 – How come Bond and Blofeld don’t recongzine eachother in OHMSS?

Many will remember that Bond and Blofeld first met in You Only Live Twice. But in the next film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Bond and Blofeld don’t recongzine eachother, and the fact that their was an actor changer for both Bond and Blofeld is not an excuse. Actually one can sort of solve this one easily, its because in the novel series OHMSS takes place before YOLT, as opposed to the series where YOLT was first. How two people can met for ‘the first time’ twice is still quite a mystery though.

Well that’s plenty of mysteries to keep you lying awake at night for weeks, you can crawl out of the sand pit and dust yourself off now, be careful not to knock over the sand castle. You’ve probably learnt absolutly nothing from the four minutes you spent reading this. The world of 007 is a world of secrets, suspense and intrigue, and we have only really touched the sandy surface of this mysterious, uncharted land. Perhaps I’ll have to do a sequal one of these days, Unsolved Mysteries II, to dig up the whole truth.

Until next time,

Freemo

Brosnan Reveals Details On Die Another Day Plot

In an interview that has appeared on Yahoo Movies actor Pierce Brosnan has revealed details on Die Another Day's plot and a gadget we'll see Bond with.

To begin with, Pierce revealed some details on the plot. Some visitors may consider the details spoilers, so please read them accordingly;

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read

This time Bond is working outside his super-secret British spy agency, and he’s not sure if they are giving him the right information.

Then again, the villain, who, of course, wants to take over the world, tries to lure Bond to his side by masquerading as a good guy. “He’s betrayed by the bad guys and he’s betrayed by his own people,” Brosnan said.

Poor Bond doesn’t know whom to trust.

So Bond turns to this version’s Bond girl, Jinx, played by Halle Berry. But even she turns out to be something she’s not.

Pierce also went on to say that the film "lends itself to a far better movie that just having special effects, followed by more special effects, followed by a bedroom sequence," Brosnan said. "There was stuff to play, and that's what you're always looking for as an actor."

On a gadget we'll see Bond using? Bond also has a supersonic ring that "enables him to get out of certain situations" and, as always, a sports watch that does more than simply tell time.

All sounds rather impressive, and it's great to see someone in the crew plugging the films plot as opposed to solely mentioning action sequences.

If you'd like to discuss this news please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

Finally, a big thanks to Xenobia, MBE and Rubixcub for alerting us to the article!

David Arnold Describes His DAD Score

At the recent golfing event organised by the Ian Fleming Foundation composer David Arnold received numerous questions about his forthcoming score for Die Another Day. Two of his answers have surfaced online already, one of which, is very convuluted.

First off, a user of http://www.filmtracks.com who attended the event asked Arnold about the score. From here on in it can get confusing. Arnold told him "its going to be symphonic, ethnic, electro, cuban, Icelandic, space bond music". That's a hell of a description, and a hell of a mouthful.

However, forum user 'Colonel Moon' has created a clever breakdown for the description. It does involve speculation, and some spoilers, so please consider yourself warned.

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)

symphonic – Music could occur during a variety of sequences. For instance, the hovercraft chase.

ethnic – ‘Ethnic’ music could appear during sequences of the film that take place in North Korea and also Hong Kong.

electro – Music could feature during the MI6 VR training sequence involving Bond. The sequence has already displaying a computerised edge through footage, this could obviously also be reflected in the score.

Cuban – Cuban music is obviously going to feature during the films Cuban scenes.

Icelandic – Cuban music is obviously going to feature during the films Iceland scenes, including scenes in the Ice Palace. It’s also possible that by ‘Icelandic’ Arnold is referring to an ‘icey’ feel as opposed to Icelandic ‘folk’ music.

Bond music – is really a given

Space – Music would feature with scenes involving Icarus, the space solar weapon contolled by Gustav Graves

Another of Arnold's comments have appeared online at http://www.johnbarry.org.uk Rob Snow attented the golf event and Rob's reported is featured on the site. "After meeting David Arnold he told me that his music for Die Another Day would be 'the same but different'. When I asked him if the sword he had won in the auction was to use on Madonna he just said, 'this will come in useful during the next few weeks'! He has also written a song with Don Black (also at the dinner on John Barry's table) for the film but does not know if it will be included in the final cut. "

Some great comments there, especially about the song that he has composed with Don Black. Even if it isn't included in the final cut, I sincerely hope that it makes it to the score, much like "Only Myself To Blame" did with the TWINE score.

If you'd like to discuss this news, please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

A big thanks to 'level007', 'Colonel Moon' and Michel for sending in information for this report!