The Quest for Ratings - Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) || From Rewatch with Love Ep20

[@Happymali10]

"Stamper" is played by a German actor. He got 10 seconds to introduce himself/Stamper as the audition. He said something like "I'm big, I'm evil and I'm German. Five seconds, keep the rest." And won the role.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

He also said, "I am bald".

[@dhwwiiexpert]

Götz Otto, Otto Günsche in 2004's Downfall. He informs Hitler of Fegelein's antics.

[@koristi_]

@@dhwwiiexpert He also starred in Iron Sky!

[@dhwwiiexpert]

@@koristi_ Yep! He's a damn good actor! Downfall's "Gunsche Informs Hitler" scene would never have led to the Hitler Is Informed meme and the larger Downfall Parody Community without the interplay between him and Bruno Ganz.

[@dhwwiiexpert]

I've never seen Iron Sky, so I should watch that next time I feel like a movie.

[@AnchorJG]

"Wow, these episodes are coming out later and later." "Next week's episode is postponed due to Desert Bus for Hope." "Say no more."

[@couldntpickausername4099]

according to their twitter there was some processing issue with the episode.

[@99wattr89]

It's like when you keep going to bed bed later and later each night, until eventually you just skip a night entirely because it's the easiest way to get back to normal. :D

[@kierankane4294]

Graham's actual shock over Matt writing about Carver's death scene is gold.

[@RobJaskula]

One of the best moments in series history! It's fantastic

[@TheWAYF]

In fairness to Wade's character, his cameo appearance was in a setting that had absolutely no plants...

[@edmundmoore1450]

Also missed his best line, "He didn't even say goodbye"

[@jcunningham8041]

Just putting this out there, if you're looking to fill space waiting for the new bond, I would absolutely love to see you guys talk about Austin Powers

[@gonvillebromhead2865]

RIP Geoffrey Palmer, who died a couple of days ago

[@Luvie1980]

Yeah I looked him up to see what he was up to and found out he'd died a few days ago. He was 93 so he lived a long life RIP.

[@CJJC]

That was a dude who *really* slammed in the lamb. RIP

[@mightberichard]

One of my favourite British character actors.

[@TurbosTantrums]

@@CJJC He was "Slam in the lamb man" in our house for many years.

[@vanzonhl]

btw, Gerald Butler is in one of the sailors on the Devonshire .. he tells the captain sth like "14 Degrees by the stern" in the thickest scottish accent ever :P

[@TurbosTantrums]

As is Julian Rhind-Tutt (Stardust, Rush, Green Wing), while over on the Bedford you find Hugh Bonneville (Notting Hill, Paddington, Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey), and Brendan Coyle (Mr Bates in Downton Abbey). It's quite the list of extras.

[@SplatterInker]

So disappointed they didn't mention those.

[@toyotatacoma1616]

It always kills me that this movie originally had the very reasonable and understandable name “tomorrow never lies”, but then someone made a typo, and it got stuck with the confusing and unrelated to anything “tomorrow never dies”

[@Kameth]

Favourite little Bond moment: After escaping the printing press, Bond enters to bottom floor which is paper storage. With no one immediately around, the escape music fades out, and Bond casually walks out, 'I totally work here' energy, and the music kicks into 'Bond being sauve' mode. Mere seconds later, someone starts shooting at him, music and Bond immediately enters escape mode. Also, no reference to the patented 'Bonds deliberately blows his cover at first chance meeting the suspected bad guy'?

[@JoshPearcetheGreat]

I know that Carver sounds... unrealistic, but the Rupert Murdoch vibe sounds frighteningly predictive

[@MrMcWalrus]

Indeed. Carver wants to control the world by being in a position to decide what is true and to tell everyone what to think about it. He's kinda over the top about it, and the plan is a bit nuts, because he's a Bond villain and that's what they do, but as an American, I've spent the last four years in a nation being functionally run by an evil media conglomerate, so it doesn't feel particularly far-fetched.

[@thumper8684]

Murdoch had already transformed media in Australia and the UK at this point. His main British business rival Robert Maxwell had been found dead on his yacht, allowing Murdoch do dominate news print here. I am certain Carver was based heavily on Murdoch.

[@virre1981]

As mentioned above, people at the time read it as Murdoch already.

[@Voidhawk42]

There's an old British "joke": after an election, the new Prime Minister asks the Queen for permission to form a government. But **before** the election, he asks Murdoch.

[@LeviRamsey]

@@virre1981 at the time there was, especially in the US, a lot of feeling that Ted Turner was a model (Fox News Channel had just launched and was not widely distributed).

[@DeltaDemon1]

During the car chase when JB is driving from the back with his cell phone. You can see JB is clearly enjoying himself. He likes his job in a fun way (not just a satisfying way). This is another example of Pierce Brosnan playing Bond very well and slightly differently than the others.

[@RobJaskula]

I think that's the signature scene that most people remember from this movie - it certainly is the only thing I remembered offhand about it - and you're right! It's got a very Moore feel to it, the kind of fun that Dalton (or the book Bond) wouldn't have on the job.

[@notme222]

I nominate Matt to write a doctoral thesis on every Bond movie from here out.

[@SgtDax]

Was not expecting Matt to dig out a literal masters thesis on this podcast, but I am here for it.

[@EvilChameleon09]

Everyone has a favorite Bond film. This one is mine. Couldn't wait for this episode to go up! Jonathan Pryce is just incredible as the villain in this. There's no news... like bad news!

[@CarmenCards]

I really enjoyed this film my only real complaints was the car didn't look appealing and the heavy was forgettable

[@vdd]

Love that line!

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@Tim Hands If anything, it's aged better than most.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@Tim Hands I admit the construction of the film was weak. Bond should have followed a trail of clues like the vintage films but Carver himself and his scheme reflected the the reality of corporate media's toxic relationship with big government. I rather see that than a movie about a wimpy Bond pining over some psycho rich kid with daddy issues.

[@kato1kalin]

@@ricardocantoral7672 haha exactly unlike a certain car debris parachute surfing over a cliff scene that is just atrocious. Like when Tom cruise kicks a gun out of the sand in I think mi3.

[@simonbrunner3062]

46:08 I do like this car. A lot. And here's why: It's perfect for this mission and quite frankly the most suitable company car Bond ever had. He's supposed to be a secret agent working under cover. Driving a flashy sports car on a mission makes no sense for him at all. This, the BMW 750iL, however, is just perfect. It is a true wolf in sheep's clothing, inconspicuous on the outside - especially for his cover as a banker attending a business event in Germany - but with a nasty V12 engine under the bonnet. That particular variant of the 750 is the long wheelbase version, which means it has more space in the back, which comes in very handy in the chase sequence. Just like the other pieces of modern automotive technology that were impressively foreshadowed in this 1997 movie, like remote/self-driving capabilities, puncture proof runflat tyres and smartphone connectivity. There's more: BMW offers a factory version of the 750iL that already comes with armour plating. And they put all their chassis engineering expertise into making sure it handles well enough for all kinds of driving stunts and escape manoeuvres despite all the extra weight. It would make perfect sense for MI6 to just buy a bunch of those and let Q branch focus on installing their little gadgets. When they instead put armour plating on those fancy supercars themselves, it completely screws up the vehicle dynamics. They'd have to hire an entire fleet of automotive engineers at Q branch to replace the suspension and properly tune it so that Bond can stand a chance in a car chase. I mean, that's just a waste of taxpayer's money.

[@RoryGlynn]

Michelle Yeoh's character is definitely a winner of my coveted "Should have got a spinoff movie" award.

[@Yora21]

She did a couple of Hong Kong action cop movies in the 80s. That's what she build her career on.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I heard Wai Lin would have returned in Die Another Day.

[@SouthyA]

Would have been better than a Jinx spinoff

[@Squiglypig]

Michelle Yeoh is always great. She has fantastic skills and she's one hell of a looker, but with a grace and poise that you rarely see anymore.

[@smlvalentine]

Dear Editor - Outstanding choice of still during the "pump for information" discussion. Many Thanks For Your Efforts, Everyone

[@googie82]

Anthony Hopkins was replaced by Jonathan Pryce. They filmed the movie The Two Popes, 21 years later where Anthony Hopkins portrays Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict who is replaced by Jonathan Pryce who portrays Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio / Pope Francis.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I hope Tony Hopkins plays a Bond villain someday.

[@AmicaCream]

​@@ricardocantoral7672would be neat, which actor would be a decent Bond then in your opinion ?

[@MrTBoneSF]

Early in his career, Jonathan Pryce played another underrated but very memorable film villain- Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes.

[@kijekuyo9494]

I liked him in Baron Munchausen as well.

[@WiqidBritt]

The Wai Lin "Q" scene reminds me of a similar scene in Moonraker. Only this time the woman is actually doing something productive rather than just smiling and shrugging whenever Bond triggers a new gadget.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Goodhead was playing innocent.

[@patrickbarry6273]

The Dr Kaufman scene is great. A fun movie all-around.

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

Geoffrey Palmer just died last week, he was a great actor one of the few to appear both in the original and new Dr Who. Fun fact Ricky Jay (gupta) is a magician who trains CIA agents in sleight of hand. You should check out Moby's video based on this movie.

[@Mabus16]

You talk about how Carver's plan doesn't seem to make much sense and doesn't match his underlying ambitions, but his plan is actually quite cleverly reminiscent of historical instances of international wars engineered for private gain. Most notably it's almost a direct parallel for the Opium Wars, which were started by Britain to help the British East India Company engineer an epidemic of opium addiction in China so that they could export massive quantities of opium from India to China to balance Britain's trade deficit from importing similarly massive quantities of tea from China. Those wars ended with Britain gaining; among other things, a 100-year lease on Hong Kong and its surrounding islands, which the broadcast rights line is a direct reference to and also silently gestures to the Hong Kong handover without directly mentioning it. The plot also echoes William Randolph Hearst's machinations in escalating the lead-up to the Spanish-American War purely so that he could get a bunch of exclusives on the war and sell more newspapers.

[@thumper8684]

With the period and the heavy British involvement it was probably more about Rupert Murdoch, or maybe British tabloids in general.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

"Remember The Maine"

[@wearwolf2500]

I think his plan makes more sense if you consider that the plan isn't actually meant to benefit him. Carver's ambition is to broadcast to everywhere on the globe and the only place he can't currently do that is China. He probably went to China and talked to people to try and make this happen. Eventually he got to General Chang who was like "If you help me take over China I will give you broadcast rights" and Carver went "Yeah, okay, I can do that". The idea is to get Chang into power so that he can give Carver the broadcast rights which is the only thing he actually wants. Also it occurs to me that they never really resolve the Change plot line.

[@paulpreston5328]

Yeah

[@octochan]

I think you have it backward - the studio didn't send Tom Cruise through a HALO jump for the Mission Impossible movie, Cruise does Mission Impossible movies to get to do things like HALO jumps on the studio's dime

[@ellaser93]

The Propellerheads do an excellent song with Shirley Bassey called "History Repeating. It's so freaking amazing!

[@Aiijuin]

I love that song! What a belter that song is that Bassey delivers amazingly!

[@LeviRamsey]

Carver committing suicide on his yacht is a reference to Robert Maxwell (father of Ghislaine, who has become (in)famous in her own right).

[@ewhac]

34:03: Pryce has done a _lot_ of stuff, but I'm a bit disappointed you didn't mention his role as Sam Lowry in _Brazil._ He also gave good spooky as Mr. Dark in _Something Wicked This Way Comes._

[@vdd]

I feel like Goldeneye is more fondly remembered, but TND will always hold more nostalgia for me as it was the first Bond I saw in the cinema What a prescient villain Carver is too, especially when you consider today's media

[@ThinEndOfTheSWedge]

Love this film, think its done a disservice with the constant comparisons to Goldeneye. Which are understandable, but its not the same!

[@sodaaddict2225]

Just a heads up to anyone who has Amazon Prime, almost every Bond film was recently re-added to "Free with Prime," including the upcoming Brosnan films!

[@TehFrenchy29]

In the United States (presumably)**, where some of them at least are also on Netflix IIRC. In Canada, where myself and LoadingReadyRun are located they are not available on Amazon Prime.

[@sodaaddict2225]

@@TehFrenchy29 Ah right, forgot about region locking

[@JoaoPessoa86]

Still no Skyfall or SPECTRE though 🙄

[@RobertJW]

In Australia, they’re all on competitive streaming service, Stan!

[@bgillen5704]

The Bond films are available on Crave in Canada. Silly to be on so many platforms, but there it is.

[@eljua]

Having dated a girl from one of the Oxford colleges I can confirm that the Oxford Bedroom could entirely be one of the rooms on campus.

[@Bunge16]

Ah yes, the Bond movie about William Randolph Hearst. Sad to hear about the hiatus, but looking forward to Desert Bus!

[@DaerkciwLuxa]

i was worried something happened and we werent gonna get a From Rewatch With Love. Thank you guys so so much for these.

[@amative1]

34:03 funny that Matt calls Pryce's character a time lord, as I best remember Pryce as playing The Master in 1999's "Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death" (a Red Nose Day special featuring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor

[@Happymali10]

The title was originally tomorrow never LIES, but at some point (some blame a fax machine) there was an error and it became "Dies". And they left it that way.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I wish they kept the original title.

[@marcjohnston4271]

That makes a ton more sense.

[@OldMan_PJ]

Up next: Denise Richards stands around and says lines.

[@prish98]

After that: Ogle Halle Berry and learn how to pronounce Mojito. xD

[@JaapZeldenrust]

Oh geez, I remember that she was supposed to be a scientist, a geologist IIRC. I also remember that the movie forgot about her being a scientist pretty much immediately. The title song was good, though.

[@Voidhawk42]

@@JaapZeldenrust A nuclear scientist/engineer, who defuses bombs in hot pants. (She's in the hot pants, not the bomb.) While I really enjoy The World Is Not Enough, she fell completely flat.

[@futuremovieactor]

“Jones. Christmas Jones.”

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

But looks HOT doing it....

[@PhoenixMelior]

21:15 - for some reason, i neither like Sheryl Crow nor am able to forget this song. Might be because this is my dad's favouritepre title sequence and I've seen it too many times.

[@etheraelespeon1986]

I’m pretty sure that people DO actually hang sawblades from helicopters, it’s apparently an easy way to cut tree branches near powerlines

[@Chasmodius]

I think your comment is two weeks early. :P

[@kyleguebert5526]

2:03:05 Ever since I was young and first saw this, I always noticed that loud sound effect because I kept trying to compare the guns from this film to the ones in GoldenEye on N64 lol. However, I actually never did notice how it just magically appeared on the Walther.

[@steelmagnum]

I really liked one of the trailers for this film. They simply used the conversation Q and Bond have about insurance, but every time Q asks a question it's intercut with shots from the car chase sequence before returning to Bond for his response

[@futuremovieactor]

When you guys get to Quantum of Solace, I’m excited to hear about Another Way to Die compared to No Good About Goodbye.

[@YirbyBond00Y]

Elliot Carver is one of the more underrated Bond villains of the series, the Mark Zuckerberg of the 90s Edit: Or rather, Rupert Murdoch

[@BigGhilz]

Or the Rupert Murdoch of the 90s. So Rupert Murdoch.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

he couldn't more clearly be Rupert Murdoch

[@MegaBluecrest]

How has it been 20 episodes already? I feel like it started just a few weeks ago.

[@hfar_in_the_sky]

2020 has bee a weird year for time scale

[@Derek_Smallshorts]

I really like 'Surrender' as a Bond song. I drove all my friends NUTS at school when this movie came out because I couldn't stop singing it to myself.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

You live up to your surname. 😝

[@Derek_Smallshorts]

@@ricardocantoral7672 If I lived up to my surname I'd be Daddy Hotpants.

[@Babz761]

When they mentioned the opening song I was like "Eh, it's not that forgetable" as I started singing it in my head ... only to realize a couple of seconds later I was thinking of "The world is not enough". So I guess they have a really good point here.

[@RobJaskula]

Omg thanks! I was like "I remember the chorus of that song...", listened to it and was surprised that it wasn't the song I thought it was AT ALL. Turns out I was thinking of The World Is Not Enough!

[@Blackadder125]

The exact same thing happened to me! I was like 'no way, Tomorrow Never Dies slaps!' And then as I listened to the song playing in my head I realised they were belting "The world is NOOOOOOT ENOOOOOOUGH". So I looked up the actual Tomorrow Never Dies song, listened to it, and had forgotten it within the hour.

[@ThinEndOfTheSWedge]

My girlfriend and I are convinced there's some kind of Mandela Effect parallel universe thing going on, because we can both sing our hearts out to this one, but nobody else seems to remember it.

[@ggrarl]

34:50 It's funny you should mention "Time Lord" when talking about Jonathan Pryce, because he was in this hilarious Dr. Who parody as The Master. I don't even really watch Dr. Who (especially not now), but I thought it was great.

[@wendigo2064ify]

I love this podcast, I thought this movie was a cartoon... But I don't think, after the last four years of living in the U.S., that Jonathan Pryce's plan, nor those who bought into it, are unbelievable. I don't care for this film for film reasons, but the villain is a believable cartoon. It's a weird world we live in.

[@vonOhzu]

Carver: "Use the right kind of ammunition'" Stamper, pull out a M-60 who's ammo literally has NATO in its name.

[@ThinEndOfTheSWedge]

Not to mention that those migs (Mig 23s despite never being used by China) are armed with a 23mm autocannon...

[@vonOhzu]

@@ThinEndOfTheSWedge Mig 23 also don't carry torpedoes.

[@Treblaine]

And the PRC would definitely not copy the M60, as machine guns go it's... not the best. However, it was the obvious choice as the M60 is relatively short means it can be fired from the shoulder without it looking awkward so makes for a much cooler looking shot.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

that "won't resist...too much" is definitely a Harvey Weinstein type producer joke

[@Xondar11223344]

Gross gross gross gross gross.

[@SuperFlik]

11:35 This is my second time watching the episode, but I only now noticed that when Graham is talking about Colin Salmon's role in 24, Matt (Griffiths) puts up an image of his role in Arrow

[@rogerwhite5777]

"Ricky Jay and his 52 assistants"... one of the best close up magic things out there full of Ricky and his awesome storytelling.... Just leaving that out there....

[@andrewburgemeister6684]

I had seen him in The Prestige, Boogie Nights and Magnolia and thought he was a relatively unassuming character actor that got some small parts in some notable movies I had seen, was literally blown away when I saw his card tricks and his “cups and balls” routine since I had no idea of how he was a brilliant stage magician!!

[@Weasels42]

I ended up watching the movie while I waited for this episode, and I was shocked by how much I hated Bond's introduction to Carver. He's so in Carver's face about knowing exactly who was involved in the Devonshire's sinking, and it's right after Paris lies to distance herself from him. It was very much my Bond moment, in the same way that stopping to throw flowers on an enemy was a Bond moment. That voice in my head just screaming, "You're supposed to be good at staying undercover, why are you like this?" I have very fond moments of watching this movie when I was younger, but the by the numbers elements you call out really stand out to me today. Still enjoyed it, will probably watch it again, but not quite the movie I remember.

[@DesolateZombie]

Hearing Graham say "Why not just say Okinawa" for the "U.S. Airbase South China Sea" was great. Would have been better if he said "Why not just say Kadena Air Base, Okinawa" though.

[@JediMB]

I also thought the Tomorrow Never Dies opening theme was pretty boring back in the late 90's, but then I happened to listen to it again many years later... and it's kinda stuck with me? Suddenly I really liked it, and I still do.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

It's not bad but Surrender is better.

[@TurbosTantrums]

I do also love M's catty "Can't you people keep *anything* locked up?" at the Russian guy in the opening sequence, presumably because "terrorists steal nuke from corrupt/incompetent post-Soviet country" was a plot point in so many things in the 90s

[@SirZapdos]

The point about Bond waiting in his hotel room being a callback to Dr. No is genius. I saw TND before Dr. No but I never picked up on that.

[@SB_whatevers]

I'm a sculptor, so I know that a "carver" is another name for a "turner" (as in, Ted Turner the founder of CNN). These are synonyms for someone who sculpts or manufactures (makes by hand). English surnames often reflect an ancestor's profession.

[@vegas_party_animal7737]

Can't wait for to hear how you rate The World Is Not Enough for title theme. It's probably in my top 5 if not my top 3

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I think it's the last good title theme.

[@ThinEndOfTheSWedge]

I wish Garbage had been allowed to make their own song free from interference. Its fine (not as good as Tomorrow Never Dies in my opinion) but if it had been more like Cherry Lips it would have been incredible.

[@ghani666]

@@ricardocantoral7672 I mean, “You Know My Name” and “Skyfall” are both coming up, plus I’m actually a huge fan of Billy Eilish’s “No Time To Die” (even if I don’t love the movie itself).

[@virre1981]

This is one of them silly detail youtube comments, but considering how big it was in Sweden at the time that Ericsson was in the new Bond movie I need to point out that it was not Sony Ericsson as that did not happen untill 2001 and would have been unthinkable in 1997. In fact it was quite a shock in 2001 too.

[@Happymali10]

They had to replace the rotor for the jump because you can't really get a helicopter into that tight of a space, and the downdraft from the rotor would make the jump (by the way, you can see that it's a dressed up enduro/MX-bike for that) very unpredictable.

[@SirZapdos]

I like the pre-title sequence quite a bit. The action is solid, but it also has so many good quips. Like after Bond ejects the second pilot, he quips, "Back seat driver." Also in that scene, before they fire the cruise missile, one of the seamen flips a switch from Peace to War. Blink and you miss it but I thought it was cool. I'm glad you mentioned Brosnan's smile during the parkade scene, most notable after the tires re-inflate. It reminds me of the car scene after the title sequence in Goldeneye. Brosnan has the biggest smile during the driving sequence with Xenia.

[@LeviRamsey]

I always knew Michael G. Wilson's cameo was in the morning standup, but seeing the stills, I also think that's a rare Barbara Broccoli cameo, too.

[@Thewingkongexchange]

Carver's plot reminds me of 'The Day Today' (spoof UK news programme from the '90s) when the main anchor manages to provoke a fairly civil trade discussion between 2 diplomats into an actual war lol!

[@hank964]

Love your KZbin especially about this version of the GQ Bond. I don't know how much you know about American History but there was the Spanish American War in 1898 and what lead to it was the blowing up USS Maine supposedly by Spain and it was hyped up by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst in his many newspapers similar like Carver for the US to declare war on Spain. Hearst papers sold a lot of copies due to there coverage of the war. Again great shows 👌

[@Captain_Kremmen]

I'm surprised you guys don't have the David Arnold "Shaken and Stirred" album. It's great, thoroughly recommended. Also quite wonderful is Björk's version of "You Only Live Twice", which was recorded with Arnold for the album but not included.

[@DeltaDemon1]

Love the bike chase scene but I find that having the helicopter hover in place, not moving forward, for several seconds at a 45 degree angle just takes me out of it as it is impossible. I guess the henchmen have hyper engineering and modified the helicopter to do this.

[@Endocrom]

I remember scenes of this movie being used on loop to promote the massive TVs and sound systems at Best Buy or wherever. Also for the TV tropes concept of "The Dragon", Stamper is the first thing I always think of.

[@phialpha88]

the item on the right side every ep is such gold

[@DeltaDemon1]

That banner fall is a Jackie Chan stunt. He's done it a few times. Another example of JB now being behind the curve instead of ahead of the curve.

[@deltoran11]

Ed Winchester must have been the inspiration for Dave's Spokesman

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

Great that they picked up on the tenuous Fast Show link. I am also a fan and love seeing Mark Williams when I am forced to see Harry Potter films by my kids

[@hfar_in_the_sky]

Personally I think the best explanations for Carver wanting to have broadcast rights in China for the rest of his life is two things. First, that China had and continues to have a absolutely huge population, so anybody who managed to break into ANY kind of Chinese market will make money hand over fist. Which Carver doesn't need since he's already rich as hell, but it's the principle of the matter. Second, and I think more likely, that China was the last major market Carver hadn't broken into and thus remained the "last land unconquered" by the Carver media empire. And if the Chinese government kept rebuking him, in particular because they would have been like, "Uh, media around here is more state run rather than privatized. Go away," then that would have probably rankled Carver to the point of obsession. Which, in fairness, during this movie we've seen Carver get pretty obsessive, so it'd track for him to obsess over "conquering China's media landscape" If that WERE the case, it'd be nice if they focused on THAT a bit more rather than his "I'm going to start World War III for better ratings!" schtick, but it's the best explanation I can come up with.

[@hfar_in_the_sky]

@@Talisguy Man, batshit insanity aside, Carver really was a villain ahead of his time

[@dtuk22]

There is an early appearance of actor Gerrard Butler in a blink...& you're miss him role.

[@Doodlesthegreat]

This is it, the last Bond movie I've watched, and I only watched it once so I expect you'll have more to say than I. Not that it's ever stopped me before... As mentioned last week, animation had become my meat and potatoes by this time, and this particular year brought three films that are going to be on my faves list forever. "Cats Don't Dance," a criminally under-marketed gem of a musical comedy, "Perfect Blue," Satoshi Kon's incredibly complex and suspenseful directorial debut, and Hayao Miyazaki beautiful, haunting, glorious masterpiece "Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)." "Roger Rabbit" brought me back to animation, but it was Kon & Mizaki that reminded me that "Hey, anime doesn't suck either!" 4:37 - Creative productions in general have a high problem rate, but when it's done "for the investors" it invariably adds orders of magnitude to how f'd up things will get. 7:28 - Having seen both this and "The Mask of Zorro," I would say that Hopkins made the right decision. Not that this is a bad film, but I find "Zorro" to be much more entertaining overall. I even pondered at the time what would happen if they made Antonio Banderas the next Bond. And then "Spy Kids" came along and I realized IT WOULD HAVE FUCKING RULED. 8:00 - my fave analogy of that kind of issue is from Brad Bird when he described taking over "Ratatouille" when it was well in production as "jumping out of a plane and knitting a parachute on the way down." 10:45 - Judi Dench makes a better M to me than Bernard Lee. There, I said it. 16:20 - And that line from Dame Judy cements it. 21:09 - The Editor likes Sheryl Crow better than I do because I can't remember the damned song, either. 22:20 - the one shot with all the swimmers looks like a microscopic picture of amoebas in a drop of pond water. 30:50 - They filmed it for the eventual vids they'd release eight years later when KZbin was launched. 31:35 - As much as folks think of Murdoch & Co, there's a far earlier precedent for this sort of shenanigans: The Spanish American War and William Randolph Hearst. It's a complex story, but it's a blueprint that certain media magnates have been pulling for a long time. 32:30 - To paraphrase Dorothy Parker "Mr. Price does not so much chew scenery as he opens his mouth and swallows it whole." But yes, it's a really really REALLY dumb reason to provoke a war between nuclear powers. 50:18 -Honestly, Michelle Yeoh is the reason I decided to see this movie, after watching a couple of Hong Kong martial arts flicks with her in them. This movie, in turn, is the reason I went to see "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" two years later. 51:20 - "Who didn't?" _I_ didn't, because the melodrama bored my tits off, and after Mr. Cain's public behavior over the last decade, I never will. -I have absolutely no memory of this party sequence. None. That's how forgettable the film was to me at the time. 1:03:44 - You realize we could ask that same question of every battered spouse we know, right? 1:17:25 - And indeed I have. Lectroid John O'Connor in "Buckaroo Banzai" leaps to the fore in my memories. 1:21:00 - The wikipedia entry for Shaken Not Stirred: The David Arnold Project - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaken_and_Stirred%3A_The_David_Arnold_James_Bond_Project It's no longer in print, and Amazon has used copies up for over $30 US. HOWEVER.... Guess who has a KZbin channel? kzbin.info/door/SvPDTDpKhNBiDL2k46Y4jQ And guess what's on it? kzbin.info/aero/OLAK5uy_luF_s46wYP3qK5GaJFUyRAA5ZvO5E4VYQ You're quite welcome. (づ￣ ³￣)づ 1:22:40 - added the Moby album to my Amazon wish list. Thank you in return. 1:30:00 - Later HALO jumps would only be possible if one owned an Xbox.............. I'll be gettin' me coat. 1:37:20 - everyone needs their own set of personalized torture devices. Get yours today at Sharper Image! 1:50:00 - seriously, Yeoh is the thing about this film I remember most enjoying. Sorry Pierce. 1:56:10 - *trollface* 2:05:30 - Mr. Wiggins, we salute you. Did you get a good grade? Editor: You need to shrink the type font for their lists at the end. The bottom entries were obscured and they're gonna need the room if we're going to see next episode's listings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Again, this was the last time I ever watched a Bond movie personally, but we'll always have The Spy Who Loved Me. >_< Next week (Okay, two weeks from now): The slow decline continues...

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I think Dench finally felt like an effective leader in Die Another Day.

[@MGlBlaze]

I managed to completely forget that this movie existed, somehow. For some reason I got this confused in my brain with The World is Not Enough.

[@Endurlay]

1:19:47 I *never* noticed the clever writing behind Bond killing The Doctor here. That’s amazing.

[@DJTomOke]

The first time Desmond Llywellyn's role is a quick cameo. I love the Avis rental crash. Feels really Roger Moore in tone

[@rhysthomas5811]

Interesting about Julian Fellowes being in this and wriring Downton abbey as the Air Warfare Officer - HMS Bedford is played by Hugh Bonnerville also from Downton Abbey

[@rhysthomas5811]

Also on HMS Devonshire there ia a leading seaman played by Gerald Butler in his second screen credit

[@MrDalevich]

I loved that you guys knew about The Fast Show. Ed Winchester was one of my favourite bits in that. (and the "I'll get me coat" guy as well) Semi-related, Charlie Higson of the Fast Show wrote a series of Young Bond books and they were excellent. The Fast Show in linked with Bond in so many ways.

[@wilcoxchar]

I do have a bit of a soft spot for this one because it was IIRC the first Bond film I ever watched. Elliott Carver seems like they were going for some mix of Ted Turner, Steve Jobs, and William Randolph Hearst. It sort of works, but the execution definitely could've been better.

[@bonghunezhou5051]

Carver is purportedly based on media barons Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch; one is pretty much forgotten, except for his youngest child, a credibly accused sex predator and trafficker, and the other is of course the proprietor of the occasionally factually-challenged FNC and FBN.

[@Sientir]

It's here! My memory of the Brosnan era films was that I loved Goldeneye and was quite fond of The World Is Not Enough, but didn't like this film or Die Another Day. That meant my expectations for this film were quite low, and it exceeded them quite a bit! I enjoyed it a good deal more than I thought I would. I agree in that it still doesn't touch Goldeneye, but I have a much higher opinion of it than I previously had had.

[@Tesseract_King]

I've seen every Bond movie, but basically all of them were in a marathon when I was like... 9. This is one of the few that was a little more recent. The only things I remembered were 1) the banner fall stunt and 2) Michelle Yeoh is awesome. (Also for some reason I thought TWINE was first?)

[@Taschenschieber]

Props to Carver for encouraging telecommuting and social distancing at the workplace I guess

[@alltheorynopractice5467]

All I remember from this movie is Bond holding the badguy in place for the chompy missile and saying "Give the people what they want." I was not engaged as a 7-8 year old.

[@bryankuriawa]

The video camera is explained in Raymond Benson's novelization of the film as Stamper makes snuff films and torture videos for sale on the international black market. It may have been in an earlier screenplay version that Benson based his book on.

[@Skulduggery_TV]

Really surprised they didn't switch Tomorrow Never Dies with Surrender for the titles. They've done stuff like that before with themes in past and even future Bond films. And the lyrics make way more sense within the context of the film, mostly because they're from Carver's point of view. That and the soundtrack, as many Bond films in the past have done, incorporates orchestral motifs of the song into the score brilliantly. And Carver, while not being like a hands on "fight hand to hand with Bond" type of villain, he was still pretty menacing as the brainy type of baddie with that touch of unhinged. Pretty good death too.

[@Happymali10]

The roof and the jumping car were filmed in Hamburg, but the insides of the garage are actually in London. Also, they needed a four-seater because that's how they pulled off the "driverless" bit, they pulled the seat-cushion of the backseat and a stuntman was sitting in the footwell with controls and a small screen (you can see the camera the stuntman used when Bond jumps through the window)

[@hazavair5755]

I feel like this movie does really well early on, and then kind of fumbles the descent and finishing touches. The Opening sequence - say what you will about the lack of signature stunt and slow start - builds tension nicely and has a very strong action scene, the scenes with most of MI6 are well done, and Carver is a weird yet vicious (and more relevant by the year) villain. For me, the high watermark of the movie was everything around Germany; the tense early infiltration, the past between Bond and Paris, the brilliant Doctor scene, and the fun, goofy and exciting car chase scene with the cherry on top. Then it jsut kind of slides downwards into a bumbling finish... The ending on the stealth ship was neat and Wai's character is superb all round, though. This was another Bond movie I watched early in life, and it sticks a lot with me, so maybe it's nostalgia? But I have a soft spot for the song, I really don't get why you're both so down on it. To me it fits the early parts of the movie, with sneaking around, hiding, and two beautiful women around Bond as he gets closer to Carver... Next! I have probably the lowest opinion of the Brosnan movies with regards to The World Is Not Enough. Call me deluded, but I actually am still entertained by Die ANother Day, it's the kind of futuristic action cheese that lands well with me. Let's see how I hold to that opinion.

[@CityofLight11]

I am unjustifiably defensive of Die Another Day and kind of dreading getting to that part of the re-watch, because I just know deep down that it's likely going to get a well deserved cratering.

[@flinx]

Since Carver says "Welcome to Saigon" and we know Bond and Wai Lin started in Vietnamese waters, I never thought the city needed the name written on screen. Yeah it takes 20 or 30 seconds before Carver says it, but I can live with a little mystery for a short time.

[@EarnestBlowfield-nx1bq]

I was watching a court trial, I forget the defendant, but the one of the bailiffs looked like a slightly older version of Mr. Stamper. And he looked like he was bored and just waiting for the judge to give him the OK to tackle or tase the obnoxious offender.

[@jamestimothy9805]

I have the david Arnold Bond covers CD somewhere in the house, bought when it came out..suprisingly good I seem to remember

[@RebekahWSD]

I've learned today that another word for a parking garage is a parkade apparently!

[@Curtisstollery]

A few things, to know is there was a theme park attraction called License to thrill. Where we can go on a James bond mission. With M and Q giving us a breaking. You may have mentioned or not that the Jetfighter pilot that was chasing bond. Was on the Devonshire as well as Gerard Butler's first film role. Also, the car chase was filmed at Bluewater shopping centre car park in the UK. There a deleted scene where Bond enters the Avis rental and tell the rental agent. "He left the keys in the car." Bond watch from Goldeneye was Omega Seamaster 300m yet in this film and the rest of the bond films. Used the automatic version. Where Goldeneye had the quartz version.

[@doomlimit]

I admit I'm not that big a Bond fan overall, but boy do I keep coming back to this movie. I'm not sure if this *explains* or *is explained by* my love of men who chew scenery the way mortals chew their food, though.

[@tropicalcatdetective]

That original Hong Kong centred screenplay for this outing was repurposed by the writer as a novel called Forever and a Death. The author, Westlake, removed all the 007 trappings and elements from the storyline, including Bond or even mention of a British spy as the protagonist, but the general plot and the villain’s scheme is still there.

[@KristofDE]

I love the opening song to this film, and don't think it's forgettable, especially the chorus which is a freaking banger. This is the first time we disagree so much about this ;-)

[@DylanSpencerVA]

Every time you guys describe Carver as "Comical," or like his motivations don't make sense, I just want to scream, "Read up on Rupert Murdoch, he's not far off!"

[@DeltaDemon1]

This movie is ok, but where it shines is the opening sequence. Spectacular. One of the best.

[@electrodyne1899]

Quick question about the guns, especially in light of Michelle Yeoh's two-machinegun mojo: is that the only Goldeneye video game parallel or are there others?

[@prish98]

Matt G was on point as usual. 😆 Pryce is easily my favorite Bond villain in the Brosnan era.

[@Thewingkongexchange]

I never knew about the production troubles, but I always saw this as a film of two very distinct halves - Hamburg and Saigon. The first half works much better for me, but I still really enjoy the film overall.

[@grumpyginger99]

Funny is retrospect talking about at the time Michelle Yeoh's most notable work and upcoming projects with Everything Everywhere All At Once's success. Does make me wonder whether it was on her IMDB page when they did the episode.