In Conversation With Olivier Schneider

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“What I love about James Bond is that he is a superhuman, not a superhero,” says Olivier Schneider, fight coordinator on Spectre and stunt coordinator on No Time To Die. 

Aged just 10, Schneider was inspired to go into stunt work by watching Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Claude Van Damme and the 007 movies. Rehearsing action scenes in his bedroom – “unfortunately for my parents” – Schneider took up martial arts training and later acting lessons before being taken under the wing of French stunt coordinator Philippe Guégan.

Getting his big break on Liam Neeson thriller Taken, it led to a career working in the USA on Safe House, Child 44 and Fast And The Furious 6. On Safe House, Schneider met Greg Powell, the brother of 007 stunt maestro Gary Powell who was looking for a fight coordinator on Spectre.

Here, Schneider reveals Bond’s stunt philosophy, the biggest set-pieces of his 007 career, plus the challenge of keeping up with Daniel Craig.

How would you describe Bond’s fighting style?

Since Daniel Craig and Casino Royale, the franchise wanted to have something more realistic and brutal, closer to what you see in a real fight with a character who’s supposed to be trained to kill. We tried to preserve the right balance between something spectacular but also as real as possible. On a Bond movie, we always try to do everything for real. It’s not a CG body jumping or falling off a bridge, it’s always a real guy. Daniel was doing his fights for real. If the guy can do it in front of you, you believe in it. My approach was trying to preserve that.

Your first 007 film was Spectre. How did you plan the helicopter fight above Mexico City?

It is probably the most complicated fight I ever had to design because there was no way to rehearse. How do you create a fight in such a little space like a helicopter? We asked for a cage at the right dimensions of the interior of the chopper, and then we started rehearsing in that cage to see what was possible. We rehearsed like that for weeks. 

When we were happy with what was happening inside the helicopter, we felt it would be fantastic if something happened on the landing skid of the helicopter, meaning having them both outside. I designed them fighting on the skid of a helicopter. We started to rehearse that on a piece of wood attached to the cage.

What are your memories of shooting that sequence?

It was spectacular. We had two or three days. We had the whole of the square in Mexico City just for us with 1,500-2,000 extras, all of them were dressed up and in Day of the Dead make-up. It was insane to see. We shot the fight in many different ways but part of it was shot over Mexico City in the air for real. It’s very rewarding when you see that. It’s so insane to see two guys fighting in the air on a helicopter.

What did you want from the train fight scene between Bond and Hinx?

We talked many times with Daniel and Sam [Mendes, director] about this fight to try to find something unique and different. The basic concept was for the fight to start at a restaurant and then go through the other carriages. I remember we called that fight ‘the tornado fight’ because it was basically like a tornado, these two guys moving forward as everything behind them was completely destroyed. It took maybe six or seven days to shoot. 

How was working with Dave Bautista who played Hinx?

He is very impressive because he’s very powerful. Dave knows how to fight. It was very rare to see a guy as big as he is moving as fast as he moves. Even Daniel was surprised because you would imagine a guy like him is going to be a little bit slow because he’s big but not at all — he’s very explosive. Dave has a good memory and he was very cautious. It was a pleasure to work with him.  Daniel and Dave really enjoyed working together. They could really play and feel free to move because they trusted each other.

What do you recall as the other big challenges on Spectre?

The scenes in the desert. It was just a shoot-out but we had massive explosions around us, a lot of fire and also the temperature. Because we shot in Morocco, the temperature was 50°C at 10am until 5pm. The stunt guys were wearing gel pads and the pads melted on them because it was too warm. Some of them got burned. And we stayed there for a week. That was very challenging to do.

How was it approaching No Time To Die knowing it was Daniel Craig’s last Bond film?

It’s a weird feeling when you know this is going to be the last time he’s going to put the suit on as James Bond. For me, it was my second film with him but for a lot of the crew, they were there since Casino Royale. Daniel is someone you really enjoy working with. We were sad but we also wanted to pull this off and do something really unique for the last one. It was very important for all of us. 

And you worked with Ana de Armas on the Cuba sequence, what was that like?

Ana loved it but she made our life very difficult for two reasons. She wanted to wear a beautiful dress and she wanted to do it in high heels, which, for us, is a nightmare. I understood she wanted that because it’s her character Paloma and looks fantastic on the screen.

But for Patrick [Vo], the fight coordinator and myself, it was a nightmare because she could break her ankle at any moment in high heels. And, because of the dress, I couldn’t put any pads on her because she had bare legs. We had to design a fight around all of that. Ana rehearsed very hard to make that happen. It was a pure pleasure doing it.

Lashana Lynch played the new 007. Did that up the ante on her action sequences?

On a movie like this there is some competition because they know Daniel is gonna go at 100%. Everyone around Daniel who is doing action knows they can’t afford to go under 100%. They know they have to work hard. And this was the first time we were seeing a different 007 on screen too. Lashana kept saying, “Give me more. I need to spend a lot of time with you guys because I love it and I want to give it my best shot.” It added something unique in many ways. She was fantastic.

How did you plan Bond infiltrating Safin’s hideout?

It was the last four weeks of shooting before we finished. I used to go to the editing room and seeing all the action together, I thought we were missing something. We were missing a heroic Bond moment. Barbara [Broccoli, producer] asked me if I had something in mind. I said, “Daniel climbing up the stairs fighting with 12 to 15 guys – and do that in one shot.” And I remember Barbara, looked at me and said, “Are you out of your mind?”

We had a very short amount of time to prepare. Barbara and Daniel loved the idea. It’s not a real oner [a continuous take] but we wanted to give the feeling of a oner. We wanted the audience to be next to Daniel all the way through to the end, feeling what he feels, seeing him get hit and injured, and be tired at the very end of his journey. So when he’s coming up to the roof, and we have this moment on his face, he finds peace. I think we needed a moment like that with him.

How did you conceive the final showdown with Safin [Rami Malek], where Bond is wounded but breaks Safin’s arm? It’s very intimate.

We had a couple of moves planned but it was Daniel who said, ‘I think it would be better if we do this’ [breaking the arm] because it tells a story. He was right. We didn’t need more. At that part of the film, we had already had plenty of fight sequences. It was not about having a big fight between them. It was about manipulation. It was about power. That’s something you can have watching their eyes. So that image of him taking his arm and breaking it, I think, is much stronger than a couple of punches and a guy getting thrown from a window.

What was your experience working with Daniel on Spectre and No Time To Die?

Daniel is just amazing. He is the actor who impressed me the most in terms of energy and intensity, because he does everything at 100%. He is not trying to preserve himself, he is giving everything. He wants to really feel the fight. He learns very quickly. Daniel is that kind of actor you have to sometimes tell him, “No, you can do that” because he wants to go all the time. He’s fantastic. It’s a real pleasure working with him. 

Finally, how would you sum up your adventures with James Bond?

A dream. I remember I was maybe 10 years old and my father bought me the DB5 as a toy with the guy jumping out of the roof when you press the bottom of the side of the car. I remember playing many, many times with that car. And then forty years later, I see that car for real. I can sit in it on set with the proper James Bond. That was amazing.

Q Lab’s Gadgets

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At the heart of the James Bond series is the interplay between science and imagination. At times inspired by cutting-edge technology, at others the product of pure flights of fantasy from the filmmakers, gadgets run the gamut from customised vehicles (the Aston Martin DB5, the submersible Lotus Esprit) and costumes (a sky jacket that transforms into a zorb) to covert weaponry (an exploding pen) and pure spy craft (x-ray shades). The brainchild of Q Division – also known as Q Branch – whatever form they take, these gizmos always provide invaluable assistance to 007 in the field.

After being issued with a Walther PPK in Dr. No, Bond (Sean Connery) receives his first bona fide gadget in From Russia With Love when Q (Desmond Llewelyn) presents 007 with a briefcase that is a veritable box of tricks. It contains an AR-7 Folding Sniper Rifle with an infrared telescopic site with ammunition, a flat throwing knife and currency (fifty gold sovereigns) concealed in hidden compartments that are accessible from the outside of the case.

Yet the case’s secret weapon is a safety mechanism that will detonate a tear gas cartridge (disguised as talcum powder) if opened incorrectly. The case comes in useful when Red Grant (Robert Shaw), who has Bond captive, sets off the trap aboard the Orient Express.

Goldfinger (1964) introduced Q’s lab in the basements of MI6 to the series as Bond, expecting to see his beloved Bentley, is introduced to the iconic Aston Martin DB5 and given the lowdown of the special features by an increasingly exasperated quartermaster – “I never joke about my work, 007”.

“I remember my contribution was the revolving number plate, ’cause I was getting a lot of parking tickets at the time and I thought it would be absolutely marvellous to collect a parking ticket and then juggle the number plate, drive off, not be worried,” Guy Hamilton, director of four James Bond films, has said of the Aston Martin. “For the smoke, we simply put smoke canisters inside. We had a wonderful prop man, he was small, and he hid in the boot with a little radio to tell him when to let the smoke off.”

Before he meets the iconic car, Bond passes a tear-gas emitting parking metre, a machine gun proof raincoat and a grenade flask. This initiated a key element of the Q Lab scenes which provide a series of imaginative gizmos not to be used by 007 but adding entertaining colour and comic relief to the briefing scene. From the tea tray guillotine and hookah pipe gun in The Spy Who Loved Me, exploding bolas and sleeping man gun turret in Moonraker, the plaster cast rocket launcher and phone booth trap seen in GoldenEye and the bagpipe which transforms into a machine gun and flamethrower in The World is Not Enough, the most innocent items are brought to life as killer machines.

“For me, Q’s like Merlin,” Pierce Brosnan has said. “The last person Bond sees before he goes out on a mission: ‘Pay attention, Bond, these are your tricks’.”

And there have been surprises for the cast on the set too. “In the workshop in the film there is an ejector seat,” Desmond Llewelyn said of filming in Q Lab in GoldenEye. “A girl is sitting at the desk and suddenly she is ejected. And of course, nobody told me anything about this and I had a hell of a shock. I was trying to remember lines and suddenly there was a whoosh and this girl disappeared from the scene.”

Released in 2002, Die Another Day includes easter eggs referring to many of 007’s most memorable gadgets, including the Duck Disguise wetsuit (Goldfinger), the Bell jet pack (Thunderball), the Little Nellie gyrocopter (You Only Live Twice) and the crocodile submarine (Octopussy).

“It was the 20th Bond movie and 40th anniversary, so we got gadgets from the previous movies out of EON’s archives, like the briefcase and Rosa Klebb’s shoe from From Russia with Love,” Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori has revealed. “Aficionados might spot them all and love it. We thought we’d give it a touch of nostalgia and a touch of history.”  

Even as the series became more grounded in realism during the Daniel Craig era – “One of the running jokes of the film is that the old technology is obsolete now, and there are hardly any gadgets for Q to give to Bond,” Ben Whishaw said of Skyfall – science still plays a vital role, from an explosive key chain in Casino Royale and a souped up Aston Martin DB10, replete with a flame thrower and an ejector seat fitted with a parachute in Spectre.

From the rich history of 007 hardware, we rummage around Q’s workshop to showcase a cool gadget used by each Bond….

Gadget: Miniature Rebreather
Film: Thunderball
Bond: Sean Connery

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) gifts Bond a miniature rebreather that can provide an emergency air supply for up to four minutes. It comes into play when Bond infiltrates Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi)’s lair by swimming through a shark infested pool. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, when clearing out his desk after resigning, Bond picks up the rebreather along with Red Grant’s garotte wristwatch (From Russia With Love). An updated version of the rebreather appears in Die Another Day as 007 sneaks into Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens)’ Iceland HQ.

Gadget: Safe-Cracker
Film: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Bond: George Lazenby

Needing to crack the safe of Swiss Solicitor Gebrüder Gumbold (James Bree), Bond uses a small device consisting of a flexible cable ending in a grapple that can be fitted to a combination lock. The machine could examine the lock, work out the combination and open the safe. In true Q department fashion, the safe-cracking device also doubles as a photocopier, allowing 007 to capture the secret correspondence that established a link between Blofeld and the College of Arms.

Gadget: Wetbike
Film: The Spy Who Loved Me
Bond: Roger Moore

The wetbike is a speedy aquatic vehicle that 007 receives on board the USS Wayne. Arriving in parts, once assembled, Bond rides it to Atlantis, the hideout of Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens), who is holding Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) hostage. The vehicle was a precursor to the Jet Ski.

Gadget: Dentonite Toothpaste
Film: Licence To Kill
Bond: Timothy Dalton

When Q (Llewelyn) hands Bond a tube of a plastic explosive disguised in a tube of Dentonite Toothpaste, he warns it is to be used “sparingly”. The toothpaste comes in useful as Bond prepares to assassinate Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi). Sneaking onto the ledge outside Sanchez’s office window, he lays out the toothpaste on the bulletproof glass. Taking up a position in the building opposite, Bond detonates the explosive using a receiver concealed in a packet of cigarettes.

Gadget: Ericsson JB988
Film: Tomorrow Never Dies
Bond: Pierce Brosnan

The Ericsson JB988 cell phone is a Q department speciality, a small gizmo that contains multiple functions. It’s a fingerprint scanner, an aerial that acts as a lock pick and a remote control for Bond’s BMW 750IL via an LCD Display and trackpad that is used to outmanoeuvre Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce)’s henchmen in the Atlantic Hotel parking garage. It is also a weapon that can administer a 20,000 volt electric shock. Held captive by Carver’s heavy Dr. Kaufman (Vincent Schiavelli), Bond hands the assassin the phone and tricks him into tasering himself to gain an advantage in a fight.

Gadget: Omega Seamaster Explosive Watch
Film: Spectre
Bond: Daniel Craig

“Does it do anything?” Bond asks Q (Ben Whishaw) after being handed an Omega Seamaster watch. “It tells the time,” responds Q. “It might help with your punctuality issues.” Q also warns 007 that the alarm is “rather loud”, a sly reference to the watch’s special function: a timed explosive. The gadget comes into its own, when Bond and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) are held captive by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), and Bond sets the timer for Madeleine to throw the watch along the floor, blowing Blofeld off his chair. “Tempus fugit,” says Bond.  

007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond, the very first exhibition focussing on the technology of 007’s 25 adventures is open at The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Read more here. 

007 Action To Arrive in Vienna

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007 Action, a brand new James Bond exhibition, will launch in Vienna on 7 September 2024. Tickets are on sale now for the new exhibit, which will bring iconic vehicles, gadgets and props to a 3,400 m2 space at the METAstadt Convention Centre.

Vehicles will include the Aston Martin DB5 gadget car from No Time To Die (2021), Little Nellie from You Only Live Twice (1967), and producer Cubby Broccoli’s personal Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud used in A View To A Kill (1985).

Vienna is the backdrop for many memorable moments in The Living Daylights (1987), including Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara’s (Maryam d’Abo) visit to the Prater amusement park and ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel. 007 Action Vienna will showcase the Aston Martin V8 from the film.

007 Action Vienna is a new expanded incarnation of Bond in Motion, which was previously in Brussels and Prague, and is supported by official logistics partner DHL.

007 Producers’ Honorary Academy Awards

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that its Board of Governors voted to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Academy Honorary Awards to Quincy Jones and Juliet Taylor and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Richard Curtis. The Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s Governors Awards event on Sunday, November 17, 2024, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. While Bond producer Cubby Broccoli received the Thalberg Award in 1981 Barbara will become only the second woman ever to receive this award.

“The recipients of this year’s Governors Awards have set the bar incredibly high across their remarkable careers, and the Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to recognise them with Oscars,” said Academy President Janet Yang. “The selection of Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli is a testament to their success as producers of the fan-favourite Bond series and their contribution to the industry’s theatrical landscape. Richard Curtis is a brilliant comedic storyteller whose tremendous charitable efforts embody the meaning of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Quincy Jones’s artistic genius and relentless creativity have made him one of the most influential musical figures of all time. Juliet Taylor has cast iconic and beloved films and paved a new path for the field. Their profound love of cinema and indelible contribution to our art form make these five individuals truly deserving of these honours.”

press.oscars.org/news/academy-honor-richard-curtis-quincy-jones-juliet-taylor-michael-g-wilson-barbara-broccoli-15th

The 007 Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024

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Welcome to the Father’s Day 2024 Gift Guide, a round-up of this year’s presents for men. From the new Jaws teeth paperweight to Blofeld socks, the Casino Royale whisky tumbler and iconic soundtracks on vinyl, you’ll find inspiration here.

Personalised: Everyone appreciates the thought that goes into a one-off gift. The monogrammed 007 leather accessories case is the smart place to store his tech chargers and watches, he can personalise his luggage with a James Bond tag, or shake it up with an engraved cocktail shaker.

Socks: The Scaramanga, The Commander or The Shaken? Put a spring in his step with a new set of James Bond socks. Available individually or in boxed sets of six, choose designs inspired by 007 characters and moments created by The London Sock Exchange.

Mugs: There’s always space for a new mug. Brighten up his tea break with one of our villainous designs, select his favourite Bond film poster or choose a 007 quote for a cup that speaks volumes. 

Barware: Transport him to Casino Royale’s Hotel Splendide with a hand-cut crystal Grasmere tumbler, or to Skyfall’s Calis Beach Bar with the scorpion drinks set. A bottle of 007 Blackwell Jamaican rum or Bollinger will always be appreciated. Make the perfect Vesper martini with a recipe cocktail shaker and a new set of coasters. 

Home and office: Bring a little Bond to his environment with a gift for the house or workspace. Start his day with a James egg cup for breakfast, keep it tidy with a Skyfall Lodge china pen pot for his desk, dine in style with a SPECTRE placemat, then leave him to relax with the new Assouline Locations book or Best of Bond soundtrack on vinyl or CD. 

Cufflinks: Finishing details make all the difference – and the perfect gift. How about a set of the new 2024 edition golden gun cufflinks, handmade in 18ct gold and ready to take their shot? Silver-plated SPECTRE symbols will mark out his shadowy allegiances or choose a pair of meticulously engraved gold bullion bars to celebrate Goldfinger’s 60th anniversary. 

Chocolates: New for 2024, the 007 collector’s set showcases all 25 films in chocolate bar form presented in a union jack tin. Or take inspiration from Bond in black tie, with the new six truffle gift box containing the best of British flavours. 

Accessories: Upgrade his keyring with an Aston Martin DB5 keychain in a choice of finishes – from gold to gunmetal. Channel Auric Goldfinger on the golf course with Lock & Co.’s flat cap updated in a new colourway, or pick up an as-seen-on-screen silk tie from Turnbull & Asser. 

Gadgets, props and cars: The new Jaws teeth paperweight is a must-have desk accessory for any fan, recreating the iconic dentures in highly polished silver-plated bronze. Immerse him in a model building kit such as the yellow 2CV from For Your Eyes Only or the GoldenEye Eurocopter. Or let him delve through the backstories of favourite props, gadgets and vehicles with the new 007 facts & sticker book.

Find the Father’s Day gift guide at 007Store now.

Spotlight On Dame Judi Dench

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At precisely 11.30am on February 7 1995, Judi Dench stepped onto C stage at Leavesden Studios to begin playing M opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye. It marked the start of a spectacular incarnation of the character, a seven film tenure – plus a cameo in 2015’s Spectre – cemented by Dench’s gravitas and steely intelligence, leavened by a dry wit. As befits such a skilled performer, Dench also conveyed M’s unspoken affection for her operative, without a hint of mawkishness or sentimentality.

After portrayals by Bernard Lee and Robert Brown, the series shift to a female M had its origins in real life. In 1992, Stella Remington was appointed head of M15. “There is now a woman at the head of the British secret service and this Bond film reflects that – quite rightly, in my view,” Dench said. 

Described by Bill Tanner as “the evil queen of numbers”, Dench’s M gives the spy an impromptu reprimand during their first tense first meeting:

M: “You don’t like me, Bond. You don’t like my methods. You think I’m an accountant, a bean counter more interested in my numbers than your instincts.”
Bond: “The thought had occurred to me.”
M: “Good, because I think you’re a sexist misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though wasted on me, obviously appealed to that young woman I sent out to evaluate you.”
Bond: “Point taken.”

In a tense confrontation, M sends Bond to investigate the theft of the GoldenEye weapon system. She tells him to “come back alive”, Dench adding an understated touch of warmth.

For 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies, M sends Bond to Hamburg to investigate media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), playfully asking 007 to “pump information” from his old flame and now Carver’s wife Paris (Teri Hatcher). The World Is Not Enough provided a more significant role for any M up to that point. “I loved playing the part. On the first Bond film I had three days, on the second one I had five days, and this time 14 days,” Dench said. “What is lovely about the Bond films is that it has got a family atmosphere, because a lot of the same people are used each time. That’s really very nice, because it is like working in a company.” 

Following the death of her fellow Oxford alumni Sir Robert King (David Calder), M is approached by King’s daughter Elektra (Sophie Marceau) to provide protection from anarchist Renard (Robert Carlyle), the man who previously kidnapped Elektra. At the time, M advised Sir Robert not to pay the ransom so, when M arrives in Baku, she is kidnapped by Elektra, who is now in league with her former captor.

Screenwriter Dana Stevens was brought in to rewrite this kidnapping plot-line and add texture to the relationship between M and Elektra. The result saw M thrown into the midst of the action, rewiring the clock to supply power to a GPS locator card Bond had given to her. Dench also became the first M to go head-to-head with the main villain of the film.

Dench presided over a change of 007 actors, appearing in Pierce Brosnan’s final mission Die Another Day (2002) and Daniel Craig’s first adventure Casino Royale (2006).

“Judi Dench can say a hundred words and make them sound wonderful, but can also give one look and break your heart,” Craig said of working opposite her.

In her first film with Craig, Dench portrays M as a mentor-figure, overseeing Bond’s initiation into the 00 programme. She guides Bond’s transformation from a skilled but blinkered, raw recruit to a battle-hardened agent who can see the bigger picture. “She slaps his wrists and sends him on his way,” Daniel Craig said.

Following 2008’s Quantum Of Solace, Skyfall (2012) became the character’s most rounded iteration. It would also become her swansong. The idea of M’s death first appeared in a treatment by writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Director Sam Mendes, who had worked with Dench on the stage, immediately latched onto the bold notion and encouraged Purvis and Wade to start writing a story that built up to M’s passing.

The plot involved cyber-terrorist Silva (Javier Bardem), a former agent who M traded to the Chinese for six agents, looking for revenge over his former boss. To keep her safe, Bond takes M to sanctuary in Skyfall, his old family home in Scotland.

“We wanted to mine the relationship between Bond and M because it is the most significant relationship he has in his life,” says producer Barbara Broccoli during production. “We have two extraordinary actors, and we thought ‘Let’s go all the way,’ and it’s worked extremely well.”

Broccoli and fellow producer Michael G. Wilson broached the character’s demise with the actor over dinner at London restaurant The Wolseley. Contrary to reports in the press at the time, Dench didn’t start crying at the news.

“When I found out M was going to die, I said, ‘Of course she’s got to go but it’s good to go with a bang and a good script’,” said Dench.

The story starts in Turkey, with M ordering Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) to shoot assassin Patrice (Ola Rapace) but she hits Bond instead and he seemingly falls to his death. After an attack on MI6, Bond returns home.

“Emotion cannot come into their relationship,” said Craig. “In the story M has to make sacrifices, Bond being one of them. So, it’s quite difficult for them to have a touchy-feely relationship with each other. In better times and difficult circumstances, they could be very close to each other and that’s the tragedy of that relationship.”

The crucial scene of Bond confronting M at her home was shot at Pinewood Studios. Yet once it was put together, it was decided to restage the scene again two weeks later.

“The scene between M and Bond worked the first time we shot it but it wasn’t quite right,” recalled Mendes. “The relationship was too resolved by the end of the scene so it lacked tension. Their relationship needs to be permanently unresolved, in the same way that your relationship with your parents can never be resolved. It’s never going to be, ‘Good. Now we know we love each other, we can live the rest of our lives peacefully.’ It doesn’t happen so I reshot the scene.”

On March 30 and April 2 2012, Mendes and the crew shot the final confrontation between Silva and M which takes place in the chapel at Skyfall.

 “It really is a gift for an actor to be close to Judi Dench and to be able to play even one scene with her,” said Bardem. “I was afraid because there was some physicality in the scene and of course I didn’t want to hurt her. But she was such a delight. She was doing something very difficult which is to maintain her concentration while I was going through the scene to find different ways of playing it. She was there and just doing her job – such a lady.”

After Bond saves M from Silva, M dies from sustained wounds cradled in Bond’s arms. Shooting the scene was a difficult day for everyone.

“We joked most of the day but it was actually very tough to do because Judi had been part of Bond for 17 years,” remembered Craig. “In the end, during the scene Bond and M genuinely connect and show weakness to each other for the first time.”

“It was really sad,” recalled Mendes. “It was sadder for Daniel and Barbara. Certainly for Barbara. Judi had been part of seven movies, so it was the end of an era for her and Michael. For me it was an opportunity to be directing Judi Dench again, the finest actor I’ve ever worked with, in a scene that was pretty moving. It felt very different on Spectre without Judi’s presence.” 

Following her death, M bequeaths Bond her Royal Doulton Bulldog, revealing her true name to be Olivia Mansfield. A poignant goodbye ending a perfect character arc, beautifully realised by one of our finest actors. 

The Evolution of Visual Effects on 007

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Mara Bryan started out her career in computer graphics for commercials and TV before moving into the film industry. In 2022, Mara was nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature at the VES Awards for her work on No Time To Die. 

Here, Mara talks about the evolution of visual effects used across four 007 movies, from pioneering CGI in GoldenEye, sleepless nights on Die Another Day, CG tunnels in The World Is Not Enough, and creating Bond’s final moments on No Time To Die

Your first James Bond credit was Visual Effects Coordinator on GoldenEye. You worked with Pierce Brosnan on all four of his 007 adventures. What are your memories of him?

I did get to know Pierce quite well, because when the actors are hanging on a cable from a helicopter in front of a green screen, you do tend to get chatting. I remember on GoldenEye, Pierce was quite nervous. There were a lot of us that were newbies on GoldenEye. It was Pierce’s first one.  

GoldenEye was the first 007 film to feature CGI. How was that?

I was visual effects. There was nobody else. Previously, visual effects on the Bond films had all been the model unit. Derek Meddings was the Visual Effects Supervisor but he was far removed from the digital world. Everything was done practically. So, I started with a budget of something like £40,000 for a few optical effects and I had to fight incrementally for the budget to do around 150-160 shots digitally.

 What were the biggest challenges?

Shooting Bond going off the edge of the cliff in the Pilatus PC-6. We could do it a lot better now nearly 30 years later. Also, the sequence where Bond’s hanging from the satellite dish at Arecibo. That was difficult because there was so much of it.

 On Tomorrow Never Dies, you were the Visual Effects Supervisor. What did that entail?

By this time, the industry was growing up and I actually had a team. There were lots of big visual effects sequences, three times as many as there had been on GoldenEye. We made the decision quite early on to play all the screen graphics out live, not to add them in later. I had a graphic designer create a logo for the Carver Media Group Network and we built this whole title sequence that we could use in the background. We played them live in case there were script changes, or we needed to roll back to a certain place. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.

What were the set pieces you were involved with?

The interior of the stealth ship, which was all green screen. We worked on Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) abseiling down the front of the building and ripping the banner. Also, the helicopter going through the street in Vietnam was a special effects helicopter on a track but it had no rotors. So, we removed all the rig and put the rotors on afterwards. There was the whole underwater sequence with the submarine, a lot of which was real. I also remember we did CG [computer generated] MiG fighter jets. 

On The World Is Not Enough, you were working with Michael Apted, a director who didn’t have any visual effects experience. How was that?

I remember Michael sitting us all down in a Heads of Department meeting. There was Vic Armstrong, who was second unit director, and Peter Lamont, the production designer. Everybody was there. Michael said, “Well, you all know what you’re doing. You’ve all done this before so I’m just going to let you get on with it and I’ll direct the drama.” That’s pretty much what he did. He was very trusting. There was the whole tunnel sequence with Bond trying to disarm the missile in the pipeline. That was a biggie because that was an entirely CG tunnel just shot with moving lights on a rig.

Was The World Is Not Enough the first time holographic images were used in feature films?

Actually, sorry to disillusion anyone, but this was not a true holographic image. We simulated one, based on researched reference and imagery. However, it was one of the first uses of “visual effects volumetric rendering”, which simply means it was a technique for creating 3 dimensional objects with visible volume that was still somewhat in the R & D stage. 

How did you create the parahawks that attack Bond and Christmas Jones in Azerbaijan?

There were CG versions of the parahawks. I remember there’s photos of me up in Chamonix taking lighting reference at certain times of the day with my watch in shot so we knew how to light for CG paragliders. We were way up the top of this mountain. It was dead silent. We had to go up there in these strange army vehicles because it was very rough terrain and very snowy.  It was exquisitely beautiful.

You’ve said that the effects on Die Another Day kept you awake at night?

They did, especially the surfing and Icarus sequences. I’m not sure we ever got them to work and there were lots of reasons for that. I think we were too ambitious. I’m not sure we approached the concept of kite surfing in the right way, especially given the limitations of the technology at the time.

Was this the first time digital water was ever used in a feature film?

For Die Another Day, this was not the first time digital water had been used in a feature film, as I had used it previously, on a much smaller scale, on another film. But digital water simulations were still extremely new, and the software to create them was very approximate, so the creation of water involved writing computer code to create the effects. This involved specialists who had specific and expert knowledge of computer simulations. The success, or lack thereof, of visual effects shots often does not lie in the technical execution of the FX, but in the conceptual design of how they are deployed. And in this regard, I think the FX technology was the more successful.

What are you proud of on Die Another Day?

We set the ice palace into the landscape and I think that worked well. I thought the invisible Aston Martin came off smartly. Whether you like the idea of it or not is another matter but I thought we actually pulled that off pretty well. It really took some thinking about and research into how to make it believable that a car could be invisible. We went into military technology and had LED screens along the side of vehicles that project the image that’s on the opposite side of the vehicle so that you have adaptive camouflage. That was the basic concept behind it. 

 You came back to the Bond family with No Time To Die. How many digital effects shots were there?

No Time To Die had 1486 VFX shots. Obviously, the car sequence in Matera was a big practical effects number but it was big on digital effects as well. There were CG versions of all the cars and those little bombs that came out. We also added tyre tracks everywhere and painted the crew out. There was a pod driver on the top of the Aston Martin, so whenever it was a stunt car, we had to remove the stunt driver. The trawler sequence was a biggie. To sink the trawler, Chris Corbould made a huge rotating special effects rig in a tank but all the underwater stuff was digital.

 How did you approach the destruction of Safin’s Island?

Most of Poison Island was digital. The visual effects team had been out and shot reference photography in the Faro Islands. The background was largely matte painting, because we wanted the island on which Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) was on to be a certain distance away. We wanted the skies to look a certain way. So just getting it to look 100% convincing was tough.

 It’s also the locale where Bond dies. Was that an emotional thing to do?

Yes, it was. Charlie Noble (VFX supervisor) dines out on the fact that his mother still hasn’t forgiven him for killing Bond. Of course, it was top secret and we managed to keep it that way for — crikey! — two and a half years.

 How would you sum up the VFX philosophy on Bond?

Don’t do anything with visual effects unless you absolutely have to. They do all those fabulous enormous stunts, special effects and explosions for real, and they will only come to visual effects when they absolutely cannot sink a trawler with Bond swimming up the side of it. So, they’re very ambitious with what they attempt practically and long may it continue. It’s a matter of pride for the special effects team.

James Bond’s Italy

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Since his first voyage to Italy in 1963’s From Russia With Love, James Bond has travelled the length and breadth of Italy, from the ancient city of Rome to the wintry chills of Cortina d’Ampezzo and the sunnier climes of Sardinia and Matera. As well as providing scenic beauty and glamour, the Italian backdrops have amped 007’s drama from pursuits through the narrow canals of Venice and foot chases over the perilous roofs of Siena. 

Venice

As seen in: From Russia with Love (1963), Moonraker (1979), Casino Royale (2006)

James Bond’s first of three forays to Venice appears at the end of From Russia With Love. 007 (Sean Connery) fights and kills SPECTRE agent Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) in a hotel room with a view over San Giorgio Maggiore, Bond and Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) later share a kiss in a water taxi under the iconic Bridge of Sighs. Director Terence Young and a film crew only spent a day in Venice. Connery and Bianchi performed their scenes against a back screen projection at Pinewood Studios in July 1963 while Piazzetta San Marco leading to Piazza San Marco was used as a backdrop for the film’s end credits.

Venice played a much bigger role in Moonraker. Bond (Roger Moore) is on the hunt for Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) which takes him to the Venini Glass Works located at the Piazzetta dei Leoncini next to Saint Mark’s Basilica. Coming under attack on the canals by Drax’s assassins, Bond turns his gondola (nicknamed the Bondola by the crew) into a hovercraft and travels across St. Mark’s Square.

“I had to drive this 80-foot-long gondola across St. Mark’s Square, where there were thousands of tourists who didn’t know there was a film going on,” recalled Roger Moore. “I was absolutely petrified. I didn’t have that much control over it. They eventually gave me a little klaxon to warn people.”

Bond returned to Venice 27 years later with Casino Royale. Sending M his retirement notice, 007 (Daniel Craig) enters Venice on a luxury yacht with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Vesper double crosses Bond and a chase ensues through Piazza San Marco and various alleyways, leading to a battle inside a collapsing palazzo which was shot mostly at Pinewood. “Though it’s a wonderful city, it’s not the easiest to film in,” recalled director Martin Campbell, who had to shoot around hordes of tourists.

For the sequence of Bond and Vesper sailing up the Grand Canal on a 54ft (16 metre) yacht named Spirit, the vessel was sailed from England to Nassau, The Bahamas to film the scene with Bond and Vesper enjoying time together before setting sail for Venice. An aerial unit captured the yacht entering Venice, the first boat allowed to sail on the Grand Canal since it was prohibited for outside traffic 350 years ago. The mast was taken up and down to move under the bridges. “It’s not a bad way to earn a living, sailing a yacht up the Grand Canal,” said Daniel Craig. “The traffic jam we caused was terrible. I don’t know if they really do have tailbacks in Venice but they had tailbacks that day.” 

Sardinia

As seen in: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Bond (Roger Moore) and Soviet agent Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) arrive in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia to infiltrate the operation of shipping tycoon Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens). The island in the Mediterranean plays host to a spectacular chase as 007’s Lotus Esprit is pursued by cars, a motorbike and helicopter. The only way for the camera to keep pace with the Lotus Esprit was to mount it in another Lotus Esprit.

Also shot in Sardinia was Bond’s journey to Stromberg’s aquatic base Atlantis on a wet bike. The prototype was built by Nelson Tyler with a 65 horsepower, two cycle engine capable of speeds of 50 miles per hour. “Nobody had ever seen one before,” recalled Roger Moore.

Cortina d’Ampezzo

As seen in: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

From the warmth of Sardinia, Bond’s next Italian sortie saw him enter the winter wonderland of Cortina d’Ampezzo, home of the 1956 Winter Olympics. Willy Bogner shot the ski sequences where Bond (Roger Moore) is chased down a mountain ending up in a pursuit down a bobsled run. 

When the unit arrived in Cortina in January 1981, they were faced with multiple challenges. “Cortina was damn cold,” said Roger Moore. “It was January — but there wasn’t any snow in the village.”

“Overnight, Tom Pevsner and his men got a convoy of trucks that fetched snow in the mountains and dumped it in Cortina,” said Michael G. Wilson, then working as an assistant to his step-father, producer Cubby Broccoli. “When the people got up in the morning, the whole village was covered in snow.”


Lake Como

As seen in: Casino Royale (2006)

Lake Como appears twice in Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond. The first, shot at the Villa del Balbianello near Lenno, sees 007 recuperating from torture at the hands of Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and forge a deeper connection with Vesper.

“Lake Como is one of the most beautiful spots in the world,” said producer Michael G. Wilson. “This is where the love affair between Bond and Vesper begins.”

The second occurs when Bond tracks down and shoots Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) and Craig utters the line “The name’s Bond. James Bond” for the first time. The moment was filmed at the private residence Villa la Gaeta in Sant’Abbondio located near the resorts of San Siro and Menaggio.

Lake Garda & Carrara

As seen in: Quantum of Solace (2008)

The pre-credit car chase sequence between Bond’s Aston Martin DBS and Alfa Romeo 159s was captured in two distinct Italian locations: on the roads and tunnels around Lake Garda, then in Carrara for a pursuit through a quarry.

The sequence employed seven Aston Martins and eight Alfa Romeos. The tunnel chase was complicated by the tunnel only being 28 ft wide in parts. As stunt coordinator Gary Powell noted, “When there are over 40 cars going through it at the speeds we were doing, it becomes a technical challenge.” After ten days shooting at Lake Garda, the unit moved to Massa to take advantage of the Carrara marble quarry.

“Some of the mountain roads we were on were quite high up and very narrow,” remembered Powell. The quarry was 3,500ft above sea level and we had cars coming down, doing handbrake turns, going round corners at speed with a 750 ft drop next to them.”

Siena

As seen in: Quantum of Solace (2008)

Following the car chase, Bond goes in pursuit of M’s double crossing bodyguard Mitchell (Glenn Forster) and gets caught up in the crowds watching the world famous Palio horse race at Piazza del Campo in the Tuscan city of Siena. As the race happens only once a year, the horse race had been captured months before principal photography began by a second unit crew.

“The Palio horse race is only about 90 seconds,” recalled First Assistant Director Michael Lerman. “We had ten camera crews shooting from rooftops, out of windows and on the track itself.” The chase continues over the picture-postcard Sienese rooftops.

While the initial idea had been to build the rooftops on the backlot at Pinewood, scheduling meant the team had to approach the Sienese City officials to take over the rooftops for a couple of months for filming. “I did a 25-foot jump,” Daniel Craig remembered. “It’s not that scary jumping off the side of a building with a wire on. I’d rehearsed the jump, so was mentally prepared, then they put a moving bus underneath and it suddenly becomes something else.”

Vatican City, Rome

As seen in: Spectre (2015)

Bond (Daniel Craig)’s sojourn to Rome is the series’ first visit to the Eternal City. The funeral of Marco Sciarra was staged at the Museum of Roman Civilisation. Also shot there were night exteriors for Lucia’s villa at Villa Di Fiorano and the Aston Martin DB10 speeding past the Coliseum.

The centre-piece is a duel between Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 and SPECTRE operative Hinx’s (Dave Bautista) Jaguar C-X75 through the cobbled streets and towpaths.

“We had two of the fastest cars in the world travelling at night at speed, through what is near enough a world heritage site,” said Executive Producer, Callum McDougal.

“Via Nomentana was one of the longest city lock-downs our location department had ever done. It was about 3 kilometres of main roads entering Rome,” recalled Associate Producer, Gregg Wilson. “This means that you are employing hundreds of blockers to make sure no people or vehicles wander into shot.”

A highlight of the chase sees the cars go down the Scala de Pinedo steps – which were reinforced for their own protection – and onto the towpath by the river Tiber, which just prior to filming had been prone to flooding. Shooting around such beautiful antiquity meant the filmmakers had to take precautions during production and adapt as necessary. The sequence ends with the Aston Martin flying into the water and Bond parachuting to safety at Ponte Sisto.

“We always try to do things on-screen that have never been done before, and the result in Rome was spectacular. It is something we feel very proud of, and I think the Romans will feel very proud as well,” said Barbara Broccoli during production.

Matera

As seen in: No Time to Die (2021)

Bond 25’s pre-credit sequence sees 007 (Daniel Craig) and Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) travel to the city of Matera in Southern Italy. The crew shipped ten DB5s, eight of which were built by Aston Martin and the special effects team. The other two were original 1964 DB5’s used in previous Bond films.

When SPECTRE agents surround 007 and Madeleine in the Piazza San Giovanna Batista, the DB5 has some tricks in its locker, firing bullets from its front lights and a smoke screen from the back as it spins round before peeling off. “Matera is tiered like an amphitheatre so whenever the DB5 did a stunt at the end we heard the locals hollering and giving us a round of applause,” recalled Special Effects Supervisor Chris Corbould.

007 x Fabergé Octopussy Collection

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The debut collection is inspired by Octopussy (1983) and features a hand-crafted limited edition Egg Objet and special edition egg surprise locket.  

The Egg Objet is limited to 50 numbered pieces and stands at 8.4cm tall, crafted from 18k yellow gold and hand-painted with a rich green enamel. The pattern underneath is a combination of Fabergé’s signature guilloché accompanied by engraved octopus tentacles. The egg is mounted on a stand set with white diamonds and blue sapphires. When the egg opens, it reveals an 18k yellow gold octopus adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes. The Egg Objet has taken six months to be created in the hands of twelve specialists, working across nine individual crafts including spinning, dye stamping, casting, goldsmithing, guilloché engraving, hand-engraving, enamelling, setting and polishing.

The exterior of the Egg Surprise Locket closely follows the design of the Fabergé egg featured in the film with 18k gold lattice framework delicately set with blue sapphires and white diamonds in a floral-like design. The egg’s surface features a geometric guilloché engraved pattern and each piece has been decorated with green enamel to pair with the egg objet. Subtle nods are woven into the design, including the bail of the locket which takes its inspiration from the letter ‘O’ in the film’s title treatment. The egg locket also offers a surprise – a miniature 18k gold octopus set with two black diamond eyes set inside.

The 007 x Fabergé Octopussy capsule collection – comprising the Octopussy Egg Objet and the Octopussy Egg Surprise Locket – is available to purchase and pre-order at 007Store.com.

Dr. No Companion Book Announced

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Taschen have announced the release of a new 492 page book, James Bond. Dr. No, a complete account of the making of the first 007 film.

An ultimate companion-piece to the 1962 film, the book features insight from producers Cubby Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, director Terence Young and art director Ken Adam. 

Readers can follow the production of the film through a day-by-day account of what took place, which scenes were shot and who made the decisions that shaped the story and characters as it was filmed. 

Among the 1,007 images included, are rare and unseen shots from photographers Bert Cann, Bunny Yaeger and Bradley Smith, as well as memos, documents, posters, and production designs.

James Bond. Dr. No is written by film historian and author of the James Bond Archives, Paul Duncan and edited by EON Productions. Available in a Collector’s Edition, limited to 1,462 copies, and two numbered Art Editions of 1-500, each accompanied by a framed ChromaLuxe print by Bert Cann.

Pre-order now at 007Store.com.

007 Science Exhibition In Chicago

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The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago is hosting a world first exhibition, 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond. The exhibition features the science and technology from 007’s 25 adventures, and opened on March 7th, running until October 27th 2024. 

007 Science explores the way in which physics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics have shaped James Bond’s on-screen adventures. Delving behind the scenes, the exhibition reveals how the Bond production team harnesses real-world science to craft 007’s gadgets and vehicles to create the movies’ thrilling stunts and action sequences.

13 vehicles and 90 artefacts will be on display, including Bond’s prototype jet pack from Thunderball, Paloma’s lipstick and earpieces that allowed for secret communication in No Time To Die and the Parahawk snowmobiles of The World Is Not Enough. 

“EON Productions is proud to partner with the Museum of Science and Industry for our first ever science themed exhibition,” said Gregg Wilson, Associate Producer of the James Bond film series. “007 Science invites the public to discover the real world science in front of and behind the camera.”

HiddenCity Launches 007: Shadow Of Spectre

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EON has partnered with real-world adventure game company HiddenCity to bring Bond fans an interactive, treasure hunt-style game in central London, 007: Shadow Of Spectre. 

Players are being recruited as MI6 field agents and will use their phones to guide them through the adventure, stepping into Bond’s world on the streets of the capital and interacting with key characters to outsmart Spectre. The plot finds James Bond unresponsive and Moneypenny needing players’ help to follow the instructions he’s left behind. Starting at a central London location, teams of two to six people will follow a trail of clues and gather intelligence to outsmart Spectre.

The decision-making element of the adventure ensures each team shapes the game’s outcome and players will engage in real-world interactions and conversations along the way to ultimately solve the mystery. Players will need to follow coded instructions from 007 and Q Branch, navigate to secret locations, go undercover, and collect intelligence from handlers to work out where to go next.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with EON Productions on 007: Shadow Of Spectre, bringing our unique style of adventure to the Bond universe,” says HiddenCity founder Rob Reason. “We pride ourselves on creating gaming experiences that challenge and excite our audience and we look forward to launching 007: Shadow Of Spectre in 2024.” HiddenCity are the winners of the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award four years running.

Tickets for 007: Shadow Of Spectre are available at £30 per person with the game recommended for players 10 years old and over (under-10s playing for free). Under 18s must be supervised by adults due to licensing restrictions. The walking experience lasts 2-3 hours with optional breaks. All you need is a smart phone capable of receiving messages, calls and data. You can play via SMS or WhatsApp.

Experience 007: Shadow Of Spectre: Tickets on sale now. Play every day between 12:30pm and 6:30pm Mon – Sat, and 12:30pm – 4:30pm on Sundays. Book tickets at 007.inthehiddencity.com or 007Store.com.