20th Anniversary of Die Another Day starring Pierce Brosnan

By: FSWL team

Published:
2022-11-20

On this day in Bond history, Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan's fourth and last film as Ian Fleming's James Bond, premiered at cinemas. The film was first released in the UK on 20th November 2002 and then in USA on 22nd November. The Swedish premiere took place on 28th November, birthday of FSWL founder Anders Frejdh. Small world.

After undergoing a painful gene therapy, which transforms his facial characteristics from Oriental to Caucasian, North Korean Colonel Tan-Gun Moon, as Sir Gustav Graves, plans to use ‘Icarus’, his secret satellite laser-emitting weapon orbiting in space, to destroy the minefield in the Korean Demilitarised Zone, enabling the takeover of South Korea, thereby uniting the country and Japan and China to form a new unstoppable superpower.

Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions present Ian Fleming's 007 in Die Another Day:

Production notes from Die Another Day: (Source: MGM / 007.com)

• 11 January 2002: Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios
• 1 February 2002: Director Lee Tamahori shot the scene in which 007 escapes the military medical facility
• 6 February 2002: Pierce Brosnan & Rick Yune began shooting their fight scene in the Alvarez Clinic
• 18 February 2002: Producer Michael G. Wilson shot his cameo playing General Chandler
• 11 March 2002: Bond and Miranda Frost’s love scene was shot
• 12 March 2002: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced the film's title (until then just called BOND 20)
• 20 March 2002: Halle Berry was shooting the scene in which Jinx is tortured by the laser machine
• 25 March 2002: Lee Tamahori shot the scene where Gustav Graves ‘kills’ Bond using Icarus
• 27 March 2002: Lee Tamahori shot the scene in which Miranda Frost is revealed as a double agent
• 11 April 2002: Halle Berry filmed the famous scene where Jinx emerges from the sea
• 17 April 2002: Lee Tamahori shot the scene in which Bond and Jinx kill Mr. Kil
• 23 April 2002: Lee Tamahori shot the first scenes featuring Bond’s ‘invisible car’
• 25 April 2002: Lee Tamahori shot the scene in which Graves unveils the Icarus satellite
• 12 May 2002: Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike began shooting Jinx and Miranda Frost’s fight scene
• 9 July 2002: Madonna filmed her cameo as Verity
• 22 October 2002: Madonna’s title track for the film was released

A selection of the filming locations for Die Another Day:

• Army Driving Training Area, Aldershot, Hampshire, England (opening hovercraft chase sequence)
• Avenida Duque de Nájera, Puerta de La Caleta, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (Cuba)
• Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, England
• Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England (ice car chase)
• Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, England (Gustave Grave's parachute jump in front of the palace)
• Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (Havana/Isla Los Organos, Cuba)
• Campo del Sur, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (James Bond arrives in Cuba)
• Castillo de San Sebastián, Avenida Duque de Nájera, Puerta de La Caleta, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (Cuban DNA Replacement Clinic - Jinx jumps backwards)
• Castillo de Santa Catalina, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (James Bond has a mojito drink with Jinx in Cuba)
• Chinnor Cement Works, Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England (opening sequence - hovercraft chase - final stages)
• Deepdale Farm, Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk, England (North Korean paddy fields and Bond & Jinx fly by in military helicopter)
• El Balneario de La Palma y del Real, Avenida Duque de Nájera, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (James Bond's hotel in Havana)
• Gloucestershire, England (Rissington airfield - ice car chase/ice palace environs)
• Green Park, London, England (Gustave Grave's parachute jump - in front of the palace - exteriors)
• Gunnar Jokull Karlson Glacier, Iceland (ice car chase - ice palace environs)
• Hampshire, England (opening sequence - hovercraft chase)
• Hawaii, USA (opening sequence - Pukch'ong Coast, North Korea - surfing scene)
• Hawley Hill, Aldershot, Hampshire, England (opening sequence - hovercraft chase)
• Hawley Woods, Farnborough, Hampshire, England (Korean Demilitarized Zone Bridge)
• Holywell Bay, Newquay, Cornwall, England (opening sequence - Pukch'ong Coast, North Korea - beach scene - near Newquay)
• Höfn, Iceland (Ice Palace - ice car chase - ice palace environs)
• Jaws, Peahi Beach, Maui, Hawaii, USA (opening sequence - Pukch'ong Coast, North Korea - surfing scene)
• Jostedal Glacier National Park, Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway (ice car chase - ice palace environs - additional filming)
• Jökulsárlón, Breiðamerkursandur, Austurland, Iceland (Lake Jokulsarlon - ice car chase - ice palace environs)
• Kent, England (Antonov cargo plane scenes - airbase, North Korea)
• Kingsland House, Stoke Newington Road, Hackney, London, England (interiors: Cigar factory, Cuba)
• La Playa de la Caleta, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (Jinx's beach in Cuba)
• Leavesden Studios, Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England (studio)
• London Manston Airport, Kent, England (Antonov cargo plane scenes)
• London, England (Westminster - Buckingham Palace and Westminster Bridge, Pall Mall - The Reform Club, Green Park, Vauxhall - MI6 HQ, Heathrow Airport)
• Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway (ice car chase - ice palace environs - additional filming)
• North Shore, Maui, Hawaii, USA (opening sequence - Pukch'ong Coast, North Korea - surfing scene)
• Oxfordshire, England (opening sequence - hovercraft chase - final stages)
• Penbryn Beach, Penbryn, Cardigan, Wales (Bond and Jinx love scene at beach-house ending)
• Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England (studio)
• RAF Manston, Kent, England (Airbase North Korea)
• RAF Marham, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England (exteriors-airbase)
• RAF Odiham, Hampshire, England (USA Army Command Bunker, Korea DMZ)
• RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire, England (ice car chase - ice palace environs - additional filming)
• River Thames, London, England (MI6 Headquarters - M's Office)
• San Fernando, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain (Cuban road)
• Simpson House - 92 Stoke Newington Road, Hackney, London, England (interiors: Cigar factory, Cuba)
• SIS Headquarters - 85 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, England (MI6 Headquarters - M's Office)
• Sogn og Fjordane, Norway (ice car chase - ice palace environs - additional filming)
• Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway (ice cliffs - plate for CGI)
• Svalbard, Norway (ice cliffs - plate for CGI)
• The Eden Project, St Austell, Cornwall, England (interiors: Iceland diamond mine)
• The Reform Club, Pall Mall, St. James's, London, England (interiors: Blades Club Lobby)
• Vatnajokull Glacier, Vatnajökull, Austurland, Iceland (ice car chase - ice palace environs)
• Vauxhall Cross - 85 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, England (MI6 Headquarters - M's Office)
• Westminster Bridge, Westminster, London, England (South end security booth - Exterior Vauxhall Cross railway station entrance)
• Westminster, London, England (palace parachute jump and South end security booth)

Vehicles used during the filming: (Source: The James Bond Vehicle Library)

• Antonov AN-124-100
• Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
• Boeing CH-47 Chinook
• Ford Skyliner - 1957
• Ford Thunderbird
• Ice Dragster
• Jaguar XKR convertible
• MD 600N Helicopter
• MD Explorer Helicopter
• Mil Mi-8/17
• Military jeep
• Osprey 5 MKII hovercraft
• Range Rover
• Ski-Doo MX Z-REV Sport
• Slingsby SAH2200
• UAZ 469 - 1980

Over the years, FSWL has been fortunate to meet some of the cast and crew from Die Another Day:
>Andrew Noakes (financial controller)
>Anthony Waye (line producer)
>Barbara Broccoli (producer)
>Chris Corbould (special effects supervisor)
>Colin Salmon (actor)
>David Arnold (soundtrack composer)
>David Decio (actor)
>Deborah Moore (actress)
>Halle Berry (actress)
>Ian Pirie (actor)
>Jim Dowdall (stuntman)
>John Cleese (actor)
>John Richardson (model effects supervisor)
>Judi Dench (actress)
>Keith Hamshere (stills photographer)
>Lee Tamahori (director)
>Lindy Hemming (costume designer)
>Madonna (singer of the title song)
>Michael G. Wilson (producer)
>Monty Norman (Composer of the James Bond Theme)
>Neal Purvis (screenwriter)
>Oliver Skeete (actor)
>Pauline Hume (end titles)
>Peter Lamont (production designer)
>Pierce Brosnan (James Bond)
>Rachel Grant (actress)
>Rick Yune (actor)
>Robert Wade (screenwriter)
>Rocky Taylor (stuntman)
>Rosamund Pike (actress)
>Samantha Bond (actress)
>Terry Cade (stuntman)
>Toby Stephens (actor)
>Vic Armstrong (stunt coordinator)

Photo above:
The original Swedish film poster for Die Another Day (2002) from Anders Frejdh's private collection.

Read more about the film Die Another Day on MGM's official website.

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