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Tomorrow Never Dies

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Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth James Bond film made by EON Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as Bond. It was released in 1997 and was produced by Bond veterans Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Tomorrow Never Dies was at its release the most successful in the series' history.

Plot Summary

Template:Spoiler

Evil media mogul Elliot Carver tries to start a war between the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom to promote his world-wide television network by sending a British frigate off course in the South China sea and sinking it from his stealth ship, while downing a Chinese fighter sent out to investigate the stray warship. When the survivors of the sunken frigate are found to have been killed using Chinese ammunition, the Royal Navy is sent to the region. As tensions between the two countries mount, Bond is sent to investigate Carver when MI6 identify a spurious signal sent from one of Carver's communications satellites around the time the warship is sank. During the investigation, Bond seduces Carver's wife, Paris Carver, which leads to her death on the orders of her husband. Meanwhile, Bond is both rivaled and assisted in his mission by the Chinese secret agent Wai Lin. It has been suggested that the character of Elliot Carver is (very loosely) based on a combination of Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation exerts power across many continents, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The script of Bruce Feirstein continues the Bond tradition of classic tongue-in-cheek lines.

Theme Music

The film was scored by David Arnold, which was his first full Bond soundtrack. Arnold had been brought to the producer's attention following his successful Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project - which featured major artist performing classic Bond title songs. The theme tune Tomorrow Never Dies was performed by Sheryl Crow and the end titles featured a "classic Bond" song, Surrender, sung by k.d. lang. Both songs included the phrase "tomorrow never dies" making this the only Bond film to date with de facto two theme songs. Fans remain split over which song would have been the better choice for the opening theme.

Locations

Film Locations

Shooting Locations

Cars & Gadgets

  • BMW 750i - Used in Germany, the car came equipped with a security system that wouldn't allow anyone access without being disarmed by Bond's mobile phone. Also had a security system on his glove box that wouldn't allow anyone access without Bond's fingerprint. The 750i could be controlled remotely via Bond's mobile phone. Armament includes rockets fired from the sunroof, deployable tacks from the rear bumper, re-inflatable tyres and a wire-cutter that extends from the BMW logo.
  • BMW R1200 motocycle - Stolen in Saigon it was used in a chase sequence ridden by both James Bond and Wai Lin.
  • Ericsson Mobile Phone - The mobile phone had a variety of uses including a stun gun, a fingerprint scanner, and when opened fully had a built in LCD screen that allowed Bond to control his BMW 750i remotely and see where his car is going.
  • Omega watch - Taken by Bond from a Chinese safehouse, it was later used to remotely destroy a glass jar that had a grenade lodged inside.
  • Walther P99 - A gun taken by Bond from the same Chinese safehouse. It replaced Bond's Walther PPK. Since Tomorrow Never Dies Bond uses a Walther P99 instead of his usual Walther PPK.

Cast & Characters

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Producers: Michael G. Wilson , Barbara Broccoli
Written by: Bruce Feirstein
Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Music: David Arnold

Trivia

  • When filming began the script wasn't finished.
  • The film was originally titled Tomorrow Never Lies, a reference to Elliott Carver's newspaper Tomorrow. However, it was then the subject of a typo and the producers liked the alternate title so much they adopted it.
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