Bean Does Bond

As Empire Online reports, "Mr. Bean" Rowan Atkinson is to play an English MI6-agent.

Austin Powers has proved that the James Bond series is a potential goldmine for spoof filmmakers, and now Rowan Atkinson is getting in on the act with Johnny English. In this comedy, from a writing team that includes Ben Elton, the Bean star plays British MI6 agent Johnny English, a role that sounds somewhat reminiscent of his incompetent spy in the Barclaycard ads.

The obligatory love interest will come in the form of Neighbours star turned singer Natalie Imbruglia, making her big screen debut as special agent Valdez. John Malkovich is on villain duty as Sauvage, a megalomaniac who – surprise, surprise – wants to take over the world.

Director Peter “Sliding Doors” Howitt said: "We see the difference between how good English thinks he is and how good he really is”. We will have to wait to see whether English is as good as Powers.

Coverage and Pictures from Cádiz Press Conference!

Dr. Shatterhand's Botanical Garden has been updated with coverage and pictures from the Press Conference in Cádiz yesterday. So be sure to pay a visit to Dr. Shatterhand!

---

OO7 rolled into Cádiz, Spain Wednesday as Eon Productions prepared to change the beautiful coastal town into another Bond historical location. Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rick Yune were on hand to answer questions, as well as producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

Brosnan, who looked dapper in his light colored sport jacket, sat next to his co-star Halle Berry. Speaking to the press about the developments of his character in the 20th OO7 epic, "Die Another Day".

"Well thanks to Barbara and Michael I have always been allowed to speak to the screenwriters," said Brosnan. I think you will find in this film that we have gone into areas of the Bond character persona that we have never seen before. We have pushed the envelope out. We have a director, Lee Tamahori, who is, dare I say it, ‘cutting edge’, and has the same veracity of film making that Martin Campbell had in GoldenEye"

Halle Berry, who plays Jinx, went on to say, "I hope to get some really good food. Because I have heard that Cadiz has the best seafood and fish here. And beside that I hope to learn about the city, get a little bit of culture. And, if I am brave enough, get to swim in the sea, maybe?"

Brosnan gave a little smirk at Halle Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) since the scene she is referring to is where Bond and Jinx meet. Similar to the beach scene in Dr. No where Honey Ryder meets OO7, Bond and Jinx also exchange loving glances at each other in the surf. “You look at me and the fireworks begin,” said Brosnan referring to their love scene.

Producer Michael G. Wilson, sitting next to actor Emilio Echevarría, also explained why they chose Cádiz. "We were going to look for a location in Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) Cuba, but unfortunately, we couldn’t film there. And we looked throughout all of Spain and Europe and even Mexico itself but we ended up coming here because this is a beautiful place and we can make it look like Cuba.

---

Now the main question is Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) why Rick Yune has a shaved head? It has been rumoured that it may have something to do with the rumoured plot of “Die Another Day which includes a Facial Transformation, but this is just speculation. No doubt it is important as the pictures from the pre-title sequence did show that Rick had a full head of hair at the time..

Feel free to discuss this news in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

An Alternate Cover For 'The Man With The Red Tattoo'

April Fools Day always sees a dozen or so James Bond related rumours fly around the Internet. We at CommanderBond.net of course published our own about a Remington Steele movie. However, another prank was played in the Raymond Benson Forums.

A user, ‘JayKay’, posted the image below saying it was the original proof cover of the UK Edition of Raymond Benson’s novel The Man With The Red Tattoo:

However, the image isn’t the work of anyone officially associated with the novel. Rather it’s the work of resident artist Evan Willnow, who is a CommanderBond.net staff member and a professional production artist.

Fans responded with approval to the supposed cover with users commenting: “I’m freaking out here!… More details… please!!!” and “WOW!! That looks fantastic.”

If you'd like to contact Evan about the cover please e-mail him through [email protected] or leave a message for him in here on the CommanderBond.net Forums.

As a side note, Evan has pointed out the possibility of a version of the full cover that users will be able to download and print and wrap around their edition of The Man With The Red Tattoo. We’ll keep you informed as to how that pans out!

Roger Moore's Daughter To Have Cameo

Club James Bond has reported that Roger Moore's daughter, Deborah Moore, will have "a small role in Die Another Day". It is not stated whether or not this will mean that Deborah has any dialogue in the film.

Thirty-eight year old Deborah, who works under the screen name of Deborah Barrymore or Deborah Maria Moore, is credited with 15 credits on the IMDb including the role of the secretary in the tele-movie 'Spymaster' which was about the life of Ian Fleming.

Thanks to 'level007' for letting us know about the news which you can discuss in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums!

Footage From Iceland Filming

CommanderBond.Net's partner site MI6 has scored some footage from the Iceland filming of Die Another Day.

While the footage shows no actual Die Another Day footage, it does show the surrounding landscape and some shots of the film crew (such as the one above).

You can see the footage at MI6 and discuss it in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

Official Site Updates With Footage, Downloads and More!

The official James Bond website http://www.jamesbond.com has updated with one of the biggest updates to the site to date.

First off the rank is an update to the download section of the website with new wallpapers and screensavers now available.

The Production News Flash this week is a chat with costume designer Lindy Hemming. Lindy takes us behind the scenes in designing the costumes for Die Another Day, in particular a look at the clothes warn by Bond. "What we were trying to do is give him a much more classic look which would last longer visually so that unlike the Roger Moore clothes which are very 70’s looking, ours would not look so out of date so quickly… A man who can travel anywhere, be at home in any company, who can take action in his clothes and emerge unruffled".

More exciting, however, is footage from the Ecospheres from The Eden Project that are a part of Die Another Day. The footage includes a chat with Director Lee Tamahori about the logistics of shooting in such a controlled environment.

So don't forget to check out the official site for all this great stuff and you can discuss it in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums!

Thanks to 'Cleopatra' for alerting us to the update!

News From The Cádiz Press Conference

'Jaime Bond' attended the press conference at the Congress Palace of Cádiz in Cádiz and thanks to him we have the inside word on what went on! For reference, Cádiz will appear as Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) Cuba in Die Another Day.

In attendance at the press conference were four stars from the film; Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rick Yune and Emilio Echevarría. Also in present was Michael G Wilson, the head of the publicity department from the Spanish division of Fox and a translator. Director Lee Tamahori didn't attend the conference as he was out on location with other crew from the film preparing for filming.

While few details were revealed about Die Another Day that haven't already been reported Halle Berry did comment that her character may take a swim in one of the beaches. Her comment was followed up by a comment from Pierce Brosnan that this scene Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) will be where ‘love’ comes to Jinx and Bond. While details are naturally sketchy, it seems that Pierce has suggested that Jinx and Bond first meet in Cuba.

Rick Yune also commented on his character Zao, saying that his character had a double personality. He explained as a result the audience will never be quite sure about the character.

Producer Michael G Wilson revealed that filming in Cádiz will last till the 14th or 15th of April, with filming at the Castle of San Sebastian commencing today (April 4).

There was a question time of thirty five minutes and with the press in attendance you can be sure that details will slowly make their way to the internet over the coming days.

Thanks to 'Jaime Bond' for sending in all the details!

Exclusive: More Pictures From Bradford Exhibition

On Tuesday we featured several images from the James Bond Exhibition currently being held in the United Kingdom. Today, thanks to John we're back with more images.

They're all the images for now, but you can be sure we'll be back with more soon! Thanks to John for sending them all in!

Revlon Secure Promotional Tie-In

Cosmetic company Revlon have secured a promotional tie-in with Die Another Day. While it's not sure if any Revlon products will be featured in the film, it is known that tie-in advertising and merchandise will be seen world-wide in a global marketing campaign. What is known is that the campaign will include advertising support, in-store promotion, an online component, integrated marketing events and public relations support. The campaign will be themed to 'Unforgettable Women of Bond'.

Halle Berry is already Revlon's spokeswoman (she's on so many bus-stop posters in Australia right now it's unbelievable!) so the marketing campaign seems a natural connection.

Forum user 'Mourning Becomes Electra' has pointed out that a similair advertising campaign was run during the promotional peried of Tomorrow Never Dies, however, with the company L'oreal.

Thanks to Gary, 'agentbond' and Tim for the alert. If you'd like to discuss the news please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

Phillips To Have Product Placement In Die Another Day

Ananova has reported that Phillips (Royal Philips Electronics NV) have attained the rights for product placements in Die Another Day.

A spokesperson for Phillips, Andre Manning, said, "We have agreed on product placement range for the film from three divisions, namely medical systems, domestic appliances/personal care and lighting." One can speculate as to what Phillips goods we'll see in Die Another Day. 'Personal care' suggests the possibility of Bond using an electric Phillips Shaver for instance. However, on 'medical systems' I can tell you that Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)these products will be featured in the hospital scene set in Cuba.

"Currently there is a lot under development but the possibilities for deploying market initiatives is extensive and varies from private screenings with dealers and consumers to advertising for the movie," Manning added.

No financial details have been disclosed.

If you'd like to discuss the placement please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. Thanks to 'agentbond' and Tim for alerting me to the news!