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Producers: EON Best Line: "James Bond Will Return"
Worst Line:
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Undercover
The Rolling Stones were approached about doing
the theme song, but they turned it down.
Sean Connery: "I think they have to create an absolutely '90s milieu for the character today. I mean, we no longer have the Evil Empire. The Chinese are knocking on the door with trade agreements. The whole world is trying to get into balance. They have to rethink the whole idea... I think that they should have got somebody like Quentin Tarantino to d" unusual slant on it -- a real departure."
The first draft of GOLDENEYE was written when Dalton was still attached to the role. The draft was by Michael France, whereas in the final version of the film he's only given a story by credit, with Jeffrey Caine and regular Brosnan era writer Bruce Feirstein.
M is not the Judi Dench character, but rather the same M that Robert Brown played. And the character of Mishkin in the film was actually supposed to be Pushkin, reprised by John Rhys-Davies. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Bond and Pushkin have a troubled relationship compared to what we saw in Dalton's first film.
Xenia Onatopp is in it, but instead of killing people with her legs, she hits pressure points to give victims heart attacks.
The biggest difference is in the main villain. Instead of Alec Trevelyan, who was a 006 and peer of Bond's, it was Augustus Trevelyan, who was Bond's former mentor and first M (predecessor of Bernard Lee's M). Instead of the flashback being shown at the beginning, it's shown at the middle where Bond and two other 00 agents are sent across the Iron Curtain to rescue Trevelyan, who they believe was captured by the Russians. Instead it turns out that he defected and as a result the two 00s were killed in the attempt to capture him, leaving Bond very bitter by the betrayal of his former mentor. The producers were hoping to get Anothny Hopkins in the role. Having Treveylan at this age sounds more plausible too, as he'd have been old enough at the end of the Cold War seeing his parents betrayed by the British, whereas somehow in the final version the parents survived the executions and little Alec somehow remembered his father living with shame.
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Comedian Robbie Coltrane, who plays a Russian villain, complained: "At the age of 44 and being somewhat overweight, I think my chances of playing a Bond girl were slim. But I can assure you Brosnan is the perfect gentleman in the shower scenes."
Actresses considered as Bond girls were Elizabeth Hurley, Elle MacPherson, and Paulina Porizkova.
"We don't have any bikini-clad girls draped round swimming pools or hanging from chandeliers," the film's director, Martin Campbell, said on the set. "I think his attitudes are very Nineties. There is no bimbo element in it at all. He certainly was sexist in past films. He is less so in this one." ("Onatopp," Martin?)
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Pierce Brosnan: "I think there's a healthy dose of sexism in the script. We aren't going to rock the boat. If we get the politically correct mob on our backs, who cares? Bond loves women and if any get in his way he blows them away. That's what it's all about..."
Izabella Scorupco, a Polish model and rock singer who lives in Sweden, isn't quite as PC. Although her character is supposed to be a Russian computer operator, Scorupco complains that she has to wear long white outfits and little black boots. "I would happily run around in high heels and a bikini. I get to wear a sort of flimsy sarong for one beach scene which looks fairly figure-hugging. But I think I only get to show a little cleavage."
Former director John Glen: "I think it's a wonderful title. I tested Pierce Brosnan and I always thought he was the perfect replacement for Roger Moore, that's why we originally chose him! I shot his tests over three days and they were fantastic; screen tests like you've never seen with special effects and everything. We chose some of the famous scenes from previous Bond movies and Pierce performed very well. He's got a very nice rich voice, a nice twinkle and I think he'll do very well, I certainly wish him all the luck in the world."
GoldenEye tested higher than any film previously tested by Yacoubian and Associates (a market research firm) -- and that includes the Batman, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon series as well as Speed, True Lies and The Fugitive. Brosnan tested extremely well as Bond and Bean scored the best of any villain in the series’ history (he tested as high as Alan Rickman in Die Hard). And co-star Famke Janssen she practically stole the show from both of them.
The marketing campaign for GoldenEye was the biggest in film history: $20 million in direct advertising from MGM/UA and another $30 million from corporate promotional partners like BMW, IBM, Nintendo, Yves St Laurent, Citgo Gas, Pepsi, Pizza Hut and Perriar Water. The film was the #1 product and advertising licensee of the year.
Before signing on as Bond, Pierce Brosnan hosted the 1993 Miss World contest: “Silly, silly, silly. I thought no one would see it, and I was broke. At first, I said, "Get the fuck out of here." Then the money went up again, and again, and finally I said "yes." So I went down to South Africa and it was hysterical. Sun City is this bizarre place right out in the hinterland. I thought, what am I doing? This is the end of my career. Would Bobby DeNiro be doing this? Of course he wouldn't, but I had to pay the rent and it WAS funny.”
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Music: "GoldenEye"