20th Anniversary of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2017-12-12

On this day in Bond history, 20 years ago, the film Tomorrow Never Dies premiered at cinemas. The film was first released in England on 12th December 1997, then in Sweden and USA on 19th December.

British multimedia mogul Elliot Carver plans to achieve global domination by influencing the minds of people over the entire globe through his media empire, which after his plan to start a war between Britain and China, will enable him to have more people under his influence than anyone else has achieved in the history of the planet.

Production notes (Source: MGM / Eon Productions)
• 18 Jan 1997: Vic Armstrong directed filming in the French Pyrenees for the films pre-credits sequence
• 26 Jan 1997: It was announced that 007 would drive a BMW (the 750iL model)
• 12 Feb 1997: Jonathan Pryce began make-up and lighting tests for his role as Elliot Carver
• 15 Mar 1997: Early shooting took place ahead of principal photography. In the cast was Gerard Butler.
• 2 Apr 1997: Jonathan Pryce shot his first scenes as Elliot Carver
• 3 May 1997: Shooting took place on the scene in which Bond meets Wai Lin for the first time
• 7 May 1997: The TND crew were shooting scenes with the remote control BMW 7 Series
• 14 May 1997: Shooting began on the motorcycle chase
• 21 May 1997: Roger Spottiswoode directed Bond and Wai Lin’s shower scene
• 6 Jun 1997: Jonathan Pryce delivered Elliot Carver’s speech at the CMGN party
• 10 Jun 1997: Teri Hatcher completed filming on her role as Paris Carver
• 16 Jun 1997: Roger Spottiswoode shot Wai Lin's fight in the bike shop
• 24 Jun 1997: Roger Spottiswoode directed the scene in which Bond discovers Carver's master plan
• 3 Jul 1997: Shooting took place on the scene where the helicopter chases Bond through the market
• 30 Jul 1997: Roger Spottiswoode shot the scene in which Wai Lin is captured by Elliot Carver’s men
• 8 Aug 1997: Roger Spottiswoode directed Bond and Elliot Carver’s final stand-off
• 15 Aug 1997: Roger Spottiswoode filmed Bond obliterating Carver’s men with rockets
• 21 Aug 1997: Roger Spottiswoode filmed Bond killing Carver with his own sea drill
• 27 Aug 1997: Roger Spottiswoode filmed the final shot of Bond and Wai Lin sharing a kiss
• 4 Sep 1997: The last shot was completed. The last scene was Bond and Wai Lin in bed
• 12 Dec 1997: The film opened in UK cinemas

A selection of filming locations for Tomorrow Never Dies:
• Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios (interiors: Elliot Carver's stealth boat) (HMS Devonshire - underwater wreck)
• Atlantic Hotel, St. Georg, Hamburg, Germany (Exterior of Hotel that James Bond stays at in Hamburg)
• Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France (Arms bazaar opening sequence)
• Brasenose College, Brasenose Lane, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England (exterior of language tutor's room)
• Brent Cross Shopping Centre (parking level 4), Hendon, London, England (Hamburg Hotel Car Park car chase)
• Eon Studios, Frogmore, Hertfordshire, England (Former Radlett Aerodrome Site)
• Financial Times Building, East India Dock, London, England (Hamburg printing facility)
• Fox Baja Studios (water tank), Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico (Stealth Ship; Sea Landing; Exteriors of the UK Fleet)
• Fuhlsbüttel Airport (Terminal 1), Hamburg, Germany (Bond meets Q aka Quentin Quigley at Avis rent-a-car)
• Harmsworth Quays Printers Ltd, Surrey Quays Road, Rotherhithe, London, England (Hamburg Printing Facility)
• High Altitude Airstrip, Peyresourde, Pyrenees Mountains, Hautes-Pyrénées, France (Arms bazaar opening sequence)
• HMS Dryad, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (interiors UK Navy Vessels) (Type 23 Frigates)
• IBM Building, New Square, Bedfont Lakes, Feltham, Middlesex, England (Cocktail Party)
• London Wall, London, England (M gives Bond his mission in Daimler car)
• Mahogany Wharf, Bangkok, Thailand (Motorcycle Chase Sequence)
• Mansion House, Cheapside, London, England (M gives Bond his mission in Daimler car)
• Museum of London, London Wall, London, England (M gives Bond his mission in Daimler car)
• Mönckebergstraße, Hamburg, Germany (James Bond exits the Hamburg printing facility - jump of car over street)
• Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (HMS Westminster)
• New College, Holywell Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England (exterior of language tutor's room)
• Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England (language tutor scene)
• Phang Nga Bay, Thailand (Ha Long Bay, Vietnam)
• Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England (studio)
• RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, England (US Airbase, Okinawa, South China Sea - James Bond meets Jack Wade)
• Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico (naval scenes)
• Royal Orchid Bridge, Bangkok, Thailand (motorbike chase)
• Somerset House, Strand, London, England (Exterior MI6 HQ/Ministry of Defence)
• Stoke Park House, Park Road, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England (Interior of Hotel that Bond stays at in Hamburg)
• Stowe Landscape Gardens, Stowe School, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England (funeral scene)
• Tannery Row, Mahogany Wharf, Bangkok, Thailand (Motorcycle Chase Sequence)
• Westferry Printers - 235 Westferry Road, Millwall, London, England (Hamburg Printing Facility)
• Westin Banyan Tree Hotel, 21/100 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand (Bond and Wai Lin abseil down side of skyscraper)

Vehicles used during the filming: (Source: BMT 216A: The James Bond Vehicle Library)
• Aero L-39 Albatros Z0
• Aston Martin DB5
• Black Rubber Dinghy
• BMW 750iL
• BMW Cruiser R 1200C
• Chinese junk
• Daimler Limousine
• Eurocopter AS355 F2 Twinstar
• Fairchild C-123 Provider
• Ford Sierra
• Mercedes-Benz
• Opel Senator 3.0i
• Range Rover
• Sikorsky S-65
• Stealth Boat

Over the years, FSWL has been fortunate to meet, and written articles about some of the cast and crew on Tomorrow Never Dies, below is a list with some of them:

>Al Matthews (actor)
>Andrew Noakes (supervising production accountant)
>Anthony Waye (line producer)
>Barbara Broccoli (producer)
>Chris Corbould (special effects supervisor)
>Colin Salmon (actor)
>Daniel Kleinman (main titles)
>David Arnold (soundtrack)
>Debbie McWilliams (casting director)
>Desmond Llewelyn (actor)
>Don Black (lyricist to the song 'Surrender')
>Gary Powell (stuntman)
>Götz Otto (actor)
>Jim Dowdall (stuntman)
>John Richardson (miniatures)
>Judi Dench (actress)
>Keith Hamshere (stills photographer)
>Lindy Hemming (costume designer)
>Liza Ross (actress)
>Michael G. Wilson (producer)
>Michelle Yeoh (actress)
>Monty Norman (composer of the 'The James Bond theme')
>Nick Gillard (stuntman)
>Pauline Hume (end titles)
>Pierce Brosnan (James Bond)
>Rocky Taylor (stuntman)
>Roger Spottiswoode (director)
>Samantha Bond (actress)
>Teri Hatcher (actress)
>Terry Cade (stuntman)
>Terry Richards (stuntman)
>Trevor Steedman (stuntman)
>Vic Armstrong (2nd unit director)
>Wendy Leech (stunt double for Michelle Yeoh)

United Artists - an MGM company - and Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions present Pierce Brosnan as Ian Fleming's James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies:

Photo above:
The original Swedish film poster for Tomorrow Never Dies (1995) from the FSWL collection.

Read more about the film Tomorrow Never Dies on MGM's official website.

Tags:

#on_the_tracks_of_007

#pierce_brosnan

#pierce_brosnan_james_bond_films

#roger_spottiswoode

#tomorrow_never_dies

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20th Anniversary of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

United Artists - an MGM company - and Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions present Pierce Brosnan as Ian Fleming's James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies:

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