Tag Archives: James Bond

‘Skyfall’ – locations gallery

12 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by in London, Skyfall

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Real filming locations together with screens of scenes filmed in these places. Film scene on top and my location photo at the bottom.

Whitehall Place in London, UK

– Raoul Silva came out of the tube station. In fact that was staff entrance to the Farmes Club with fake “UNDERGROUND” sign attached to the metal frame.  (location photo: 2016). Read the story behind the scene: “Skyfall” at Embankment Station in London.

Whitehall Place in London, UK

– Raoul Silva leaving the tube station. In fact that was staff entrance to the Farmes Club.  (location photo: 2016). Read the story behind the scene: “Skyfall” at Embankment Station in London.

Northumberland Ave in London, UK

– Raoul Silva got into a police car parked at Whitehall Place. There was fake “UNDERGROUND” sign visible in background. It was placed above a disused Charing Cross exit, between the Playhouse Theatre and Embankment Place. Real entrance to the Embankment Underground Station is located at the end of Embankment Place.  (location photo: 2016). Read the story behind the scene: “Skyfall” at Embankment Station in London.

Northumberland Ave in London, UK

– The police car with Raoul Silva drove off down the Whitehall Place and turned left in front of the entrance to the Corinthia Hotel..  (location photo: 2016). Read the story behind the scene: “Skyfall” at Embankment Station in London.

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Interview with Andreas Wisniewski who has played villain Necros in ‘The Living Daylights’

06 Sunday Dec 2020

Posted by in Andreas Wisniewski, The Living Daylights

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Andreas Wisniewski is an ex-ballet dancer, actor and film director. For film enthusiasts and James Bond fans he is well known for his portrayals of Necros in ‘The Living Daylights’.

 

Piotr Zajac (bondlocations): How did you got the part in “The Living Daylights”? Did you take part in casting or did you get a call from the producers?

Andreas Wisniewski: It went pretty much the usual way. With the big film projects you don’t meet anybody unless you have an agent, who is already representing you. My agent submitted me but it was not enough to get the job of course. The agent always thinks that you are right for the part (laughing) but there are casting people and the producing site that have to think that you are right. You have to audition so I went to audition. I made a screen test. Escpecially if you are young and new and there isn’t a lot of material that people can see you in they want to know if you can do this.

I’ve heard that according to the script Necros looked exactly like you.

Yes. The character was described like I looked. They were just astonished. That was of course nice but not enough. I still had to convinced them that I could do it. Screen test was just as usual. I did a little scene and they had recorded it, so they could discuss about it later without me.

The first scene that you were filming was the fight in the kitchen with Bill Weston. Did you fight according to choreography or was it rather spontaneous? How long did you train for that? 

No, it was totally choreographed. The fight was choreographed to the detail. I had a few days of training before that which wasn’t really very much. I was a ballet dancer and at least I had some sort of physical awarness that I could fake a lot of things. That is what I did.

Did you bring your own ideas to the choreography of the fight?

I didn’t have any ideas at that time. I was blissfully ignorant of it all. I am sure that you know that for a stuntman it is not the greatest experience to be doing this with someone who is not fully trained. Bill broke a finger in the fight. I also slipped once and I hit him on the cheekbone and he was knocked out for a few seconds. That is the hazard of the profession.

Did you film the fight in Pinewood Studios or on location in Stonor House?

We trained in Pinewood, but the fight was filmed at Stonor House.

In the fight sequence there was a parrot present in the room. As far as I know it was exactly the same bird that we could see in ‘For Your Eyes Only”. Is it true?

I’ve never even heard about this. I’ve given fair amount of interviews about this over the years and some of the questions always keep repeating as you can imagine, but I’ve never heard anybody asking about the parrot.

Your character had a walkman. Is it right that in reality when you were filming you were not listening to any music?

There was no music. They don’t want you to do that sort of stuff because you should be receptive to instructions. Who knows, maybe the director wants to shout something at you. They want you to be able to pay attention.

You were filming at Stoner House. Also the scene with explosion. How was it done that the buidling was not damaged?

This is an art in itself how to do make fake explosions. I wasn’t particularly told about it but they must have taken all the windows out and replaced them with special glass. That would have been catastrophy if anything would happen to the Stoner House that is a listed building.

Later in the film we could see you in a scene at the swimming pool. Was it really a mansion that belonged to Malcom Forbes?

Yes. In Tangier. Nice property with a beautiful view.

Did you have an access to the swiming pool only?

No, I think we had a ground floor of the house that we could use. I don’t recall seeing anything else.

It looked like a good place for relax. Was it like on vacation or was it rather hard work only?

It was a bit of both. It was focused work. It has to be because there is a lot of money in stake, but the whole crew was so relaxed with each other that it never felt like hard work. I’ve never heard anybody shouting on that set or anything alike. Of course there were long shooting days sometimes. You know, the good work should always be fun in my book. Working hard doesn’t interfere with that. I remember beeing out in town in Tangier so we had plenty of free time to make some excursions and things like that.

Do you have any interesting memories from Morocco?

Indeed. Tangier was actually not the most impressive. We were filming the desert scenes in Ouarzazate doubling for Afghanistan. That was beautiful. It was my first time in Marocco and it was quite a different world.

As far as I know the film studio in Marocco was different than most of film studios in the world.

It wasn’t a studio at all (laughing). There was just a wall with a sign. It looked like there was gonna be something, but we walked through the gate and then it was just desert again. It was very funny.

What about the banquet scene where General Pushkin was attacked? It looked as it was in Morocco. Was it filmed there?

No. It was filmed in a building in England. It belonged to the Guiness family (Elveden Hall in Elveden, Suffolk). That is how you can be misled. You thought it was Morocco, but it was just up from London a few hours drive.

Another scene that was filmed somewhere else than the audience would expect was death of Saunders. He was squeezed by the door. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios, not at Prater in Vienna.

Yes, because the mechanism had to be built. That type of things usualy has to be done in the studio. They couldn’t shut the Prater park for that sort of things for too long.

Did you go to Vienna for filming?

Yes. There is a scene in which my character is a baloon seller. That was filmed in real location at Prater in Vienna.

Was it closed for shooting? People in background were extras or tourists like on the set of ‘Moonraker’ in Venice?

It was closed. With the real audience when they see the camera they tend to looke at the camera. It doesn’t work.

The last sequence with your character was the fight with James Bond in the air. I know that stuntmen from BJ Worth’s team were filming on location and you were filming in the studio with a mockup of the plane.

They shot the real stunt first. I did all other stunts in this film. Parachuting could be fun. I could learn this, but they didn’t let me do it. That was a good thing. When I saw it in the end I was glad I didn’t do it. It was crazy. They shot the real version first and then we did close ups in Pinewood. There was a mock up as you said. Half of an airplane was hanging there. They’d painted the total horizon and built a landscape from gypsum. Tim Dalton and I were hanging in the net in the air and we were getting down for each shot. In those days there was no non linear editing. Director John Glen had a cut on a Steenbeck and he was looking how to shoot close ups so they would be matching with what stunt guys did. It took three days to do that. That was slow process. That was the hardest work in the whole film because we were just hanging in the net for hours at a time.

So it was even harder than the fight?

Oh yes. The fight wasn’t hard work. You get a kick and then you get a break. That is no sweat. We were hanging in that net for an hours. There were harnesses and things like that so there was just no way to get out quickly. Waiting for the next take was not even comparable to the fight. Much harder work. I remember that we’d spent around an hour in the net and Tim said: ‘Dude, I’m wrecked already’ not knowing that we would be doing this for three days. That was far harder than any of the rest. That was in fact the only hard physical work that I recall. I was young, I was in good shape. I was a ballet dancer. Dancing is very hard physical work.

When was that sequence filmed?

It was filmed at the very end. The last day of that was the end for me.

You mentioned Timothy Dalton. How do you remember working with him?

I really appreciated Tim. I think he is a fabulous actor. I liked what he wanted to do with it, which was obviously important. I’ve been playing sort of smaller parts when you have to fit in what the leads are doing. He wanted to take it much more seriously than had been the case with Roger Moore. I appreciated that. Working with him was super professional. It was big movie making. It was filming until everything was as good as we could get. That was great.

How about the director John Glen. Did you have to stick precisely to his vision or you had a lot of artistic freedom?

He had some ideas that he wanted to see. There are always some things that you don’t know and you have to adjust to it because you will not see it until the day. The director can go and see the set or he can talk to actors and ask them to put on costumes but it doesn’t all come together really until the shoot. There is always some sort of leeway to make the most of it. Of course as an actor I like to have some ideas of my own. I tended to get those with the second unit which I sometimes worked with. The director was letting us to do a bit more stuff because if it didn’t work we just did it again with less stress than on the first unit.

Thank you for the meeting and for sharing with me your stories from the set of ‘The Living Daylights’.

November 26th 2020

‘The Living Daylights’ at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

22 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in The Living Daylights, Wien

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James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo) arrived to Vienna and took a carriage to the hotel. On the way they passed among others Schönbrunn Palace, former summer residence of the Habsburg family. Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, AustriaThe horse-drawn carriage with Bond and Kara traveled along a line of trees towards the southern facade of the palace that you can see in the second photo. Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, AustriaWhen they were passing in front of the palace an orchestra was playing on the balcon, and couples were waltzing on a stage.Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

While visiting the Schönbrunn Palace you can enter the balcony where the orchestra was playing (see photo below).Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

The stage where couples were waltzing was located below the balcony on a wide strip sprinkled with gravel that you can see in the next photo.Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

Behind the carriage you could see the gloriette. It was built in 18th century on the top of the hill in the Schönbrunn Palace Garden. Gloriette at Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

Standing on the balcony where the orchestra was playing you can see on the left the alley that the carriage came along and the gloriette on the right.Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

It is worth to climb the hill where the gloriette is located. The view from the top is gorgeous. You can see the city skyline.Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, AustriaIn the evening James Bond and Kara Milovy attended the opera performance. That sequence was filmed in Schlosstheater in Schönbrunn Palace with nearly 250 extras. It is worth to mention that Michael G. Wilson and his wife were sitting in the audience. As he confessed it was the charm of this place that convinced them to be part of the scene.
The same location was used for the concert sequence with Kara playing solo at the end of the film. The role of the conductor was played by composer John Barry, who composed soundtracks for 12 James Bond films.
Unfortunately the Schlosstheater was closed for the public during my visit to Vienna. Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

The northern facade of the palace was the background for the end credits.Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria

Visit LOCATIONS GALLERY on top of the page to see locations photos compared with movie scenes.

Information source:
– The Living Daylights Audio Commentary, The Living Daylights Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006.

‘The Living Daylights’ – locations gallery

10 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by in Austria, The Living Daylights, Wien

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Real filming locations together with screens of scenes filmed in these places. Film scene on top and my location photo at the bottom.

Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria– Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria– Volksoper at Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria.– Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Volksoper in Vienna, Austria.– Volksoper at Währinger Strasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Traungasse in Vienna, Austria.– Traungasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Traungasse in Vienna, Austria.– Traungasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz in Vienna, Austria.– Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria.– Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria.– Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria.– James Bond leaving Kara’s house. It was filmed at Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria.– Kara with the cello leaving her house. The house was filmed at Antonigasse 92 in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria.– James Bond and Kara in Aston Martin drive past a telephone booth where the cello case pretending to be Kara was left. It was filmed at Antonigasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Schlagergasse in Vienna, Austria.– James Bond and Kara driving away in Aston Martin. It was filmed at Schlagergasse in Vienna, Austria. (location photo: 2020)

Prater in Wien, Austria– James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo) arrive to Wien in Austria. There is the Wiener Riesenrad in background. (location photo: 2020)

Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria– Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria, in which direction James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo) are heading in a carriage. (location photo: 2020) Read the story behind the scene: ‘The Living Daylights’ at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria– End credits with Schönbrunn Palace in Wien, Austria in background. (location photo: 2020) Read the story behind the scene: ‘The Living Daylights’ at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

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‘Moonraker’ – locations gallery

10 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by in Moonraker, Venice

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Real filming locations together with screens of scenes filmed in these places. Film scene on top and my location photo at the bottom.

Venini shop at Piazzetta dei Leoncini in Venice, Italy– Venini shop located at Piazzetta dei Leoncini next to Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. There was Venini Glass Works behind the shop that belonged to main opponent of 007 – Hugo Drax. Read the story behind the scene: ‘Moonraker’ in Venice. (location photo: 2019)

Canal Grande, Venice, Italy– James Bond moors a gondola behind the Palazzo Pisani to visit Drax’s laboratory at night. Read the story behind the scene: ‘Moonraker’ in Venice. (location photo: 2002)

Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello in Venice, Italy– Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello in Venice, Italy. Read the story behind the scene: ‘Moonraker’ in Venice.

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Interview with Jany Temime – costume designer for ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’

10 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Jany Temime, Skyfall, Spectre

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Jany Temime is awards winning costume designer. She has designed costumes for such blockbusters as 6 films about Harry Potter, ‘Gravity’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘Spectre’ and many other.

Piotr Zając (bondlocations): At the beginning I would like to ask about ‘Spectre’ opening sequence. There were so many people involved. What are your memories from working on that sequence?

Jany Temime: There were wonderful people in Mexico. We’ve opened a very big workshop there. Lots of talented people, great artists were making the masks. They were students from the academie, full of energy, creativity. Nothing was stopping them. They loved doing it. Working with those Mexican people was wonderful experience.

There were so many costumes. Did you have to create them all?

I’ve actually spent a week there. I’ve divided costumes into four themes: death, historical, wedding and folklor. After dividing them into four groups I actually had to make around 40 designs; 10 for each theme. Out of these 10 costumes there were different shapes and colors in different combinations. Actually it was more like arithmetics. I had time to organize it in such a way that we had different patterns that were made from different fabrics. My Mexican assistant went to London to buy the fabric, because fabrics were better in London than in Mexico.

007 films are famous for James Bond suits. In ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’ Tom Ford was the supplier. How did you work with him?

It was very good collaboration. Tom is film director and he understands exactly the job of costume designer. He was never trying to do more than he was supposed to do, which was making Daniel’s suit. He got me incredible tailors to work with and he completely respected my input. He gave me complete artistic freedom. I told him what I wanted to do and although it was not his style he completely respected it and he did it. We really worked very well together. I keep on seeing them and work with them on another project. They are wonderful.

So you’ve designed the suit and they’ve produced it according to your project?

Yes. I told Tom that I wanted to have dark blue tuxedo. Then I identified shape of jacket and trousers. He just sent me his tailors and they did exactly what I wanted.

How did you do, that Bond’s Walter PPK was not visible under his suit?

It was done by giving a little bit more of fabric where the gun should be. It was just clever tailoring.

How about action scenes? The suit fits very well all the time.

It was so, because suits were made very well and every suit was made for different action. Suits for motorbike had longer arms, longer legs and they had bigger seat. We didn’t make one suit. We made different shapes depending on a stunt. We also made different suits depending on the stuntman, because lots of them didn’t have Daniel’s size. They had to be made specially. Whoever was wearing the suit it was made for him.

It is visible that in ‘Skyfall’ the colors are very important.

It was first approach of Sam Mendes. He had in mind very classical film noir. It was also what I wanted. I remember Jean-Pierre Melville’s film from 1970 (‘Le cercle rouge’). Do you remember Alain Delon? That is how James Bond should look like. I knew that Daniel Craig wanted Steve McQueen, so I always kept Steve McQueen in my head, but in my mind I was thinking of Alain Delon. I wanted a sort of bad boy, but beautiful, sexy bad boy and we got that. I must say that big part of the aesthetics was coming from the director. It always comes from the director. I like a lot this sort of aesthetics, so I thought I could bring a lot in the film. Sam Mendes had it already in his mind from the beginning.

Did you also had in mind how colors were important, especially in ‘Skyfall’, while designing costumes?

I’ve designed costumes for the colors of scenes. It was intentional because ‘Skyfall’, even the name, was a sad film. ‘Spectre’ was different. It opened in Mexico in colors, so it was very difficult after that to catch it back. ‘Skyfall’ was first introspection of James Bond. It was reflective film, very different from ‘Spectre’. Colors in ‘Skyfall’ match completely with the sort of film that Sam Mendes wanted to make.

In James Bond films there are not only suits for 007, but also beautifull dresses. I’ve read that creating the dress for Severine, played by Berenice Marlohe in ‘Spectre’, took 6 months.

Yes, but it was not so much that we were designing it for half a year, but it took so long to have it made. Berenice Marlohe was training and her body was changing slightly, but enough for such a dress. I think that she was becoming more and more Bond girl, Severine, therefore it had to be adapted. It is very difficult when a girl who is sort of new actress has to become Bond girl. You can not just put a dress on her, you have to let it grow on her and that is why it took such a long time. I’ve also designed  sort of tatoo on the back that Swarovski made with the technique of ironing it on tulle. It was time consuming because it was new process. It was very complicated dress. It took time to make it perfect. And then to produce it, because we needed to make 10 of them.

What about costumes for all other characters. Did you design all of them?

Yes. Sometimes it goes very quickly and you have it straight away. Sometimes it takes time. I remember in ‘Skyfall’ costume for Javier Bardem was very time consuming. We really didn’t know which way to go and neither did he. He wanted to be different sort of villain. He had in his mind that slightly homosexual scene therefore he wanted to be desirable. He thought that the scene would just work if he would be as sexy as Daniel Craig. I completely understood that. I thought that it was very strong point. We had to accept complexity of what was happening between those two men. It was very interesting. We could have gone different ways. I had in my mind even something Japanese at certain moment and then we went for sort of Nouveau riche, not really, but ostentatious. It was completely different image than Bond. Slightly Latino, slightly ostentatious. The guy anyway doesn’t get it. There was something completely wrong about him. It was hard to find a balance with his face and makeup and visual effects and to give him a costume which was as strong as that. It was difficult and it took a long time. I thought it was my most difficult costume.

How do you start the process of designing costumes?

At first I discuss with director. When I know what the director wants I start sketching. When I have different sketches I show them to the director. He gives me first ideas what appeals to him. Then I have time with actors. After that we have selection, fitting, looking alike and little by little we get to the costume. It is like a circle. You go round and round and round and finally you reach the middle.

Where did you look for inspirations for Bond suits?

Everywhere. For ‘Skyfall’ French director Jean-Pierre Melville and Sam Mendes inspired me. For ‘Spectre’ I thought about 1930’s, romanticism, Humphrey Bogart. I wanted white tuxedo. Then I started thinking about Sean Connery. I always look at Sean Connery. What would Sean wear? I wanted ‘Spectre’ to be completely different. I was thinking about Bogart, the train, the Tangier. That is why I put Lea (Seydoux) in 1930 dress. The light was also very different with Hoyte (van Hoytema), more romantic. He also explored different filters.

What is the experience from film set that you have still in your mind?

When Sam Mendes saw the dress he said: ‘I am going to start filming with her back to the camera’. He understood how he could use that. It was wonderful to work with director who new how to use what I gave him. ‘Skyfall’ was incredible cinematographic experience for me. Everybody has different feeling for each film. I thought that ‘Spectre’ was wonderful film to design and to make, but for me ‘Skyfall’ was cinematographic experience that really touched me.

What is your favourite scene from James Bond film so far?

The death of M in ‘Skyfall’.

Do you have any plans to work again on Bond film?

No, I am finished with Bond. I did two Bond films that were wonderful and took two years of my life. Now I am ready for new challange.

Thank you very much for the meeting and telling so many interesting details of your work on James Bond films.

Interview with Andy Lister who has doubled Daniel Craig in ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’

29 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Andy Lister, Skyfall, Spectre

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Andy Lister is a stuntman who has doubled Daniel Craig in ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’. There is a number of blockbusters full of action in his filmography: ‘X-Men: First Class’, ’47 Ronin’, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’, ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ to name just a few. Andy Lister on Instagram: listersbox

Piotr Zajac (bondlocations): James Bond fans could see you in ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’ as Daniel Craig stunt double. It was amazing what you’ve done in these films. I’m always fascinated with great stunts. Not many people know when they see stuntman and when actor in a film. I would like to talk with you about your and other stuntmen performances, so more people would see how great is your work. That it is not just CGI, but real stunts.Andy Lister and Piotr Zajac– Andy Lister and Piotr Zajac during the interview

You have been a stuntman for nearly 10 years?

Andy Lister: Yes, that is right. It was September 17th 2010 when I proudly graduated on to the British Stunt Register!

How did you become a stuntman?

I’ve studied a martial art called Wushu since I was young and was fortunate enough to earn a place on the British wushu team and represent my country in various martial arts competitions. Then in 2004, there was a production company asking around different martial art schools for people to audition for a film. My wushu coach Jon Staples put me forward for the audition. I found out that it was for ‘Batman Begins’ and they needed extras for the League of Shadows team. I was so excited!! Even though I was just in the background it was an amazing experience! Seeing the professional stunt men rehearsing and performing on set made me hungry to chase my dream to be a stuntman!! I had always wanted to be a stuntman from watching Jackie Chan movies, and now here I was experiencing it!! Blew my mind!! So when I was on that job I started talking to the stunt performers and they explained to me the process of how to become a stuntman in the UK. You have to complete 6 different sports from a specific selection, have days in front of camera as an extra, to teach you set etiquette and how the industry works and lastly a 5 minute video of you performing your skills to prove you can actually do them! The 6 sports that I chose were martial arts (wushu), Gymnastics, Trampolining, High diving, Scuba Diving and Rock Climbing. Each sport has a different level that needs to be achieved, for example scuba diving is dive master level or above, rock climbing was the Single pitch award and martial arts was brown belt or above etc. You then gather all your sport certificates, receipts from the extra days and 5 minute video off to the British Stunt Register, where they have a meeting a few times a year. They look through your case and if you meet their standard then you’re in! If not, they tell you what needs to be amended and you try again in the next meeting. That’s how I got onto the register back in 2010! It was hard training for sure, but it gives you the right mentality for the industry! It can be tough, but if you work hard it’ll be the best thing ever!

How did you get to do all these movies from your filmography? Did you have to go for auditions or someone was asking you to perform in them?

It depends. Usually when you first get on to register you make a personal page in the Spotlight British stunt register book. It’ll have your headshot, full body shot, action shot, height, weight, measurements etc and some of the skills you can do.The Stunt Register book gets passed between stunt coordinators, producers and directors. They look through the book and they say: ‘I need a guy who is 5’10” – oh, this one looks OK; similar size, can do the physical action we need, let’s bring him in’. They call him up:’ Hey, are you free? You are? Brilliant’. Then they come in for an audition to see their skills and also how they interact with the team. That’s usually how it goes. Or it can be word of mouth when performers recommend you to coordinators, or coordinators to other coordinators.

How did you get into the James Bond films?

My first ever movie was ‘X-Men: First Class’. On that movie I met Lee Morrison. He was doubling a badass character called Azazel. Whilst working with him, he recommended me to Gary Powell (Bond stunt coordinator). I met with Gary and auditioned for the movie he was working on at the time called ’47 Ronin’. I was lucky to get onto the movie and learned so much from everyone on that film! It really started my career off to an amazing start!! After filming had finished, Garys next job was ‘Skyfall’! He pushed production for me to come onto Skyfall with him and be Bond double! It was crazy! It was a dream come true!! It was also only my 3rd movie, I still had a lot to learn and by the end I had learned so much! Really made me the person I am today!! That was an amazing experience! It was tough, no doubt about that, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!!

We could see you in ‘Skyfall’ jumping on train, fighting on train and falling from the bridge. In ‘Spectre’ you were fighting in helicopter and jumping in Blenheim Palace. Did I miss anything?

From memory on camera I did the silhouette fight in Shanghai, Casino fight, some of the ending scenes in the fields and various other bits and bobs.

How many stuntmen double Daniel Craig?

There are quite a few! Lee Morrison, Jean-Pierre Goy and Robbie Maddison on motorbike.  Mark Higgins, Ben Collins, Rob Hunt and Martin Ivanov were driving a car. Physical doubles were Ben Cooke, Bobby Hanton, James Embree, Gordon Alexander, Jean-Charles Rousseau, David Grant, Kai Martin and myself.

How is it decided which one of you is doubling Daniel Craig in the scene?

It depends on the scene really. If it’s a motorcycle stunt, car stunt or a fight, that will usually determine who will perform it. Different units will also sometimes have different doubles so two doubles may be filming on the same day.

You mentioned body shape. Do you have the same suits as Daniel Craig or maybe different with some inserts or something like that?

It is usually pretty similar. We have differently shaped heads but widthwise we are pretty similar. My frame is wider, but he has bigger muscles haha, so it usually evens out under the suit. But I think out of all of us I’m the one with the least similar body haha!

On a film set there is a director and a stunt coordinator. Is there also someone responsible for choreography of the stunt?

Yes that’s right, it was Roger Yuan on ‘Skyfall’ and Olivier Schneider on ‘Spectre’.

Do you perform stunts that they’ve created or do you discuss with them and co-create choreography of stunt fight?

Usually the fight coordinator has the idea of the overall fight and they work out the skeleton of it. If they need an extra move or something that will help, we add it. If they have the idea of crazy stunt that the person can’t do, they will adjust it. We try to bring their ideas to the performance on camera.

How long does it take to get ready to such big scenes like your fights in opening sequences in ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’? Do you train it before in the studio?

Yeah, for example on ‘Spectre’ the whole helicopter scene was choreographed and rehearsed a lot! We rehearsed countless, countless times with Olivier Schneider, his team (Yves & Patrick) and Rob Cooper with whom I did the fight. We started rehearsals in Pinewood studios in a steel frame simulating the helicopter. The fight team came up with the fight and Olivier filmed us performing it for the Pre-Viz. Pre-Viz is a previsualisation of the scene. It’s shot like the final shot in the movie so the stunt & fight coordinator can put their ideas across to the director. The director would have changes so we would add, change or take out various aspects of the choreography to fit with their plan for the scene. This process can take a long time, up to even the day of filming sometimes haha! Then from the studio rehearsals we flew out to Mexico! We went to rehearse in the actual helicopter we would be using on the day. The size was slightly different with the seat configuration, so we altered the fight a bit and rehearsed until we were all comfortable with it. Rob and I also tested out the rigging safety lines that would be attached to us while we were fighting on the outside of the helicopter, making sure we wouldn’t fly up into the rotor blades! Huge thanks to the riggers Marc Mailley, Tolga Keenan, Sam Trimming and Kev Lyons for keeping us safe up there!!! Then the next stage was testing up in the air! We did various tests to see how the helicopter reacted to us rolling around in it, us jumping on and off it, fighting on the side and making sure everything was safe! Gary Powell, Craig Silva and Olivier Schneider did such an awesome job in bringing that scene to life!!!

Were you doing those stunts in the helicopter over a group of extras?

The people directly underneath were created with CGI. There were people in the square just not under the helicopter… Just in case something would happen and the helicopter went down.

What did it feel like fighting in the air?

I loved it so much!! It was awesome! Total dream come true! Fighting on the outside of a helicopter!! It was one of the best moments in my career for sure!!!!!

You must have trusted the helicopter pilot a lot.

Oh yeah!! Chuck Aaron was awesome!! To fly a helicopter normally is difficult. To do it with two guys hanging on outside of it jumping up and down and a camera helicopter flying super close is next level difficult!!! Then on top of that add a few 360’s and barrel rolls and you got a dude with superhuman skill as a pilot!! Out of all the people in the world I trusted him with my life! In the movie there are actually two people playing the pilot. In the exterior shots Chuck Aaron was doing it. Back in Pinewood studios they filmed the interior on a gimble rig. We had a stunt guy (and also Bond double himself) Kai Martin play the part of the pilot for the movie. The Studio Gimble rig was the body of the helicopter put onto a special effects rig that rotated. We could then put Daniel and Alessandro Cremona inside safely and let them perform parts of the fight while the helicopter spun 360 degrees!

How are the dots for CGI placed on your face?

Usually they have an image where they should roughly place them, usually parts of the face that don’t move too much. They just put them on with either a brush, makeup pencil or small stickers that are glued on. For face replacement they use either dots, a rubber mask or facial prosthetics where they stick rubber segments onto the performers face so they look more like Daniel.

How long did it take to shoot the whole fight?

It took quite a while. We had a few days in Mexico and then I think it was a couple of weeks in Pinewood. I don’t remember exactly, but it was huge operation!

How was it with ‘Skyfall’ opening sequence? Did you also have preparations in Pinewood Studios?

That was another long prep! We started at Pinewood Studios in a rehearsal space and trained on mats with taped out sections to mimic the exact measurements of the top of the train. We went through several, several different versions with me fighting Damien Walters who was doubling Patrice. That went for a couple of months or so. Then we went out to Turkey and rehearsed on a stationary train. The top of the train was prepped specially for the fight with added grip and some sections with matting too. We then tested out the wire rigs that head rigger Diz Sharpe put in place to keep both us and the actors safe while the train was travelling at speed.

In ‘Skyfall’, before the fight, you jumped on the train. Was it also you on a motorbike?

No, that was the bike genius Lee Morrison. He did the motorbike stunt when he hit the bridge and then there was a cut. I then ran and jumped off the bridge with a special effects rig releasing the bike next to me. Timing was quite crucial as the train was speeding underneath, I had to time it so I landed on the right carriage and not end up missing it completely!

Did you have to jump few times?

I rehearsed it a few times for timing and camera, then they shot a few takes then that was it! I was on the train and the fight was on!!

I was always wondering how many times you had to repeat the scene with VW Beetles falling down from the train. I am sure it was not easy to get it ready for next shot.

There wasn’t that many from what I remember. I think it was only a couple of times. That was a pretty hectic sequence. I was in the excavator’s cabin and Mark Higgins was driving the Land Rover. I could see the arm smashing off all these cars in his direction and he was like a total driving ninja! Dodging each and everyone of them!! Then all the dust swallowed everything. I don’t know how he did it! Legend!

Was it you controlling the excavator?

Hahaha thankfully not! None of the levers I was pulling worked. The special effects guys did a great job controlling it all!!

Then you were climbing on the excavator?

No, that was Ben Cooke. I rehearsed it, but Ben did the shot on the day jumping into the train and then Daniel took over. Turned out great!!

When you were fighting on a roof of the train was it really so close to the tunnel?

On the rehearsals we got very close. We developed a good system. I was strangling Damien Walters who was doubling Ola Rapace and at some point he would his head slightly and could see the tunnel coming towards us. When he started to move to get out I knew that it was time to turn and duck! It looked close and it was pretty close haha! We also had people with horns in case we were getting too close though! As soon as we ducked, the roof of the tunnel was flying past us! So much fun!!

I can only imagine that, but for sure I wouldn’t be so brave. (both laughing) I’ve seen a documentry about Jackie Chan and how he was using different sounds during the fight to know where to expect kick or punch.

Yeah we use the same system! Let’s say there is one person fighting few people. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly when they are coming in to attack if you can’t see them. However if they give a noise you know they are going to be right there in time for your next move. It is a great tool for timing! I have been lucky that I’ve been able to fight a lot of great performers! They’ve done it for years, so fighting them is easy, because they know about distancing and rhythm .

After the fight on the train you were falling down from the bridge. How did you film it?

he first day they shot that part of the scene was with a fake train carriage. It was only the top and then boxes all around. Daniel did a great reaction of getting shot and fell off the set and into boxes. The next day they shot the full fall with me. In the movie there is water under the bridge. However under the real bridge there are just rocks and trees 300ft below; not something that you would really want to fall into. The train was parked in the middle of the bridge and next to the ‘jump carriage’ there was a crane that stretched over the gap with wires attached. I remember in the morning of the shoot day, one of the extending stabilisers of the crane wasn’t working. So they spent some time trying to fix it and ended up having to secure it with scaffolding. It didn’t help my nerves haha! Then I got up on top of the train and my wires were attached. The day before when they were shooting Daniel it was full sunshine, but of course the day we were shooting the fall, it was cloudy, so we had to wait until the clouds would pass and there was full sun.  I remember standing up there waiting for a break in the clouds, then finally it came!! Full sun! I got ready and Terry Madden started to count down from 6! We started from 6 so the helicopter could be timed in. I heard ‘Ready and 6, 5, 4, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop!!!’ clouds had come back over!! I think it that happened three or four times. Then Terry got down to ‘2’ and then ‘1, ACTION!’ and I jumped. I have to thank Diz Sharpe, Sam Trimming, Kevin Lyons and Peter Miles! They were the rigging team that kept me alive!!!

Was it only one take?

No, there were three takes. First time I jumped but I moved my arm. I remember Gary saying: ‘Don’t move your arm. You are supposed to be dead!’. Then I jumped a second time and that was fine. The third time was for luck, just in case and I think that was the one they’ve used.

Did you also have to wait between takes for the sun?

After the first take we had to wait a little bit. The second and third were pretty much straight away.

Was it like bungee jumping?

It was kind of like bungee jumping. I free fell for 70/80ft and then a goldtail device was used to slow my fall and bring me to a stop. The full height of the bridge was around 300ft. That was the first big fall I had done in my career and I think the biggest so far to this day.

Did you repeat it later?

I went bungee jumping on holiday. (laughs)

Did you have a chance to see how other scenes for Bond moves were filmed?

Not usually, when they film drama scenes we are rehearsing. We rehearse every day, usually from 8a.m. to 6p.m. We are on set during the drama scenes if the actor needs us there for stunt pads or a mat. Or if the crew are at height, sometimes we are there to help with safety.

How do you prepare for a stunt. Do you have your own warm-up, stetching routine?

I try and keep pretty flexible so it doesn’t take too long to warm up before a scene. If an actor is about to do something physical we will sometimes be called in to warm them up, fit a harness and answer any questions they have regarding the action. The warm up comprises of basic stretches to get the blood flowing and prepare them for the next shot. For example if they are doing a lot of kicks or low stances, leg stretching would focused on more etc. And the same can be said for myself. I like to get nice and warm and stretched out as much as I can before a take. Although sometimes that’s not always possible. An action scene can really take it’s toll on the body! They can last days, weeks or even months!! The fight on the train in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ took many many months! Constantly warming up and cooling down between shots can cause injury! So I try and stay as warm as possible.

‘Spectre’ was your second and also the last Bond film you were in so far. You didn’t take part in ‘No Time to Die’?

No sadly I was busy on another movie ‘The King’s Man’ with Brad Allen. It was another great movie to work on and a great take on the spy genre!

Do you have any plans to return as Bond?

Haha It depends on who the actor is and the stunt coordinator but I would love to do another Bond in the future!

Who should be the next James Bond in your opinion?

Somebody who is 5’10”. (laughs)

Thank you for great stories and good luck with becoming James Bond again.

Interview with Terry Bamber – production manager on James Bond films.

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Casino Royale, Die Another Day, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Terry Bamber, The Man with the Golden Gun, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies

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Terry Bamber is one of the luckiest James Bond fans ever as he got to work on 7 James Bond films with 3 actors who played 007. Amazing person with great personality, who agreed to tell fantastic stories behind the scenes of Bond films. It was marvelous experience to talk with Terry Bamber.

Piotr Zajac (bondlocations): First James Bond movie that you worked on was ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, so it was quite  a long time ago.

Terry Bamber: Yes, that was 1974. I just finished my A-Levels and I think, if I remember correctly, my dad was working at a Pinewood Studios on a Walt Disney film ‘One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing’ and he said to me: ‘Right, it is time now you have done your education, let’s get you out and see if we can get you a job’. I was unbelivably lucky. He took me down the old main corridor in the old building and first office we went into was Claude Hudson’s office, who was production manager on ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’. Dad had known Claude for many years. As luck would have it the young man that had been the unit runner in the office had just received the union ticket which meant he could start next job as 3rd assistant director. So they were looking for a runner to start on the following Monday and I got offered the job. My dad had worked on the earlier Bond films and I’ve adored the Bond films and now I was given a chance to work on one. It was so exciting to meet Sir Roger Moore. Derek Cracknell was the assistant director, he knew dad for years. Very, very kind man. It was a marvelous experience.

Is it right that you were buying sandwiches for Sir Roger Moore?

Yes. On my first day I was told that Sir Roger Moore at that time used to like tap chicken sandwitches on brown bread at the end of the day. My first task that day was to go in queue by the restaurant where they made sandwitches especially for them. In those days we didn’t put anything on them like tissue or cling film or anything. I went alone to his dressing room and I think I was so nervous by the time I got there that my hands were shaking and my knees were knocking. I knocked on the door and I think an assistant opened the door and Sir Roger was at the back of the room. As he looked up everything went to jelly and sandwitches fell out of my hands and of course bread down. He said I supposed to be watching my figure. He was just a wonderful man. My dad had worked with him on lots of files. He worked on ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself‘ which was Sir Roger’s favourite film. Dad was the second assistant director on that. Sir Roger used to get him on various second units on ‘Persuaders’ and programs like that. He was wonderful actor and a great man.

Your dad was working on the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’?

Yes. At that time Pinewood Studios was a proper studio that had his own workforce, that was hired out  to any film that was going to be made there. Dad was a prop man and worked either as a dressing prop, which was dressing the sets ahead of the unit going into a film or he was a standby prop, which meant that he would standby during the filming and deal with all the props that actors at background were using on a day of filming. I think he was a dressing prop on ‘Dr. No’ and ‘From Russia with Love’. On ‘You Only Live Twice’ I remember him taking my sister and myself to see the volcano set which was just the most amizing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was briliant.

Was it your first contact with the universe of James Bond?

No. My first real memory of it was the music, was hearing the James Bond theme. I think it was in 1965, the year after ‘Goldfinger’ came out. Dad was in Spain making a film called ‘Lost command’. We were in Madrid and we managed to buy Shirley Bassey’s single of ‘Goldfinger’ which we played non stop the whole time we were there. It is the music that blew me away, the James Bond theme that blew me away. The first James Bond film that I saw in a cinema was ‘Thunderball’. Obviously I didn’t catch up with ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘From Russia with Love’ and ‘Dr. No’ on a big screen until later. I think in late 60’s, early 70’s cinemas did like a double bill: ‘Dr. No’ with ‘Goldfinger’, ‘From Russia with Love’ with ‘Thunderball’. Brilliant films.

What were your other tasks on the set of ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’?

In those days it was mainly being in charge of getting call sheets round to everybody at the end of the day. Those days the call sheets were typed up on a stencil that was around the printing machine. It was a nightmare because stencils were always ripped somewhere and you had to try to ensure they were lined up, the ink didn’t splash across the page. That was always a nightmare. In those days you had to wrap in the studio by 5.30, so it was always a rush to get the call sheets all printed out by just before 5 and I had half an hour to go all around the studio to the post room, up to the telephone exchange, to make sure that everybody got the call sheet for the next day. Also on ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ I’ve got a chance for the first time on the set helping up second unit with filming part of the opening sequence when Scaramanga was having a duel. I had to give Sir Christopher Lee a cue for him to go through and I was so nervous with that, but luckily Mr Lee said: ‘I don’t think I’m gonna need this cue now, I can see when I’ve got to go’. No matter what I’ve done ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ was the thing that ment the most to me because I was only 18 and it was first James Bond film I’ve worked on. At the end of the film I was kept on to help sell off the props and costumes and everything and that was very exciting, but during that I managed to walk into a piece of wood which scratched my eye. Rather than waiting for an ambulance Mr Broccoli had sent his car down to pick me up with Roy, who was the driver, another lovely man.  So I was taken to Wexham Park Hospital in Mr Broccoli’s Rolls Royce. And then funny enough I was invited for my first cast and crew screening of the film ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ which was in November 1974. I had to pass my driving test so I could go. Luckily I passed it a week before the showing. It was shown in what was then Theater 7 at Pinewood Studios, which is now being renamed to John Barry Theatre in honour of John Barry. In 2014 I did a sort of one man show that was supposed to show how I did teaching and talking about my career to celebrate at that time my 40 years in the film industry and in fact my great love of John Barry’s music and the contribution that he made not just in James Bond films but to films like ‘Dances with Wolves‘, ‘Out of Africa’, ‘The Ipcress File’; marvelous, marvelous music.

I’ve heard a story that you had dinner with John Barry.

It was another ambarassing night. When we were doing ‘Die Another Day’ we were filming down in Rissington. Vic Armstrong was a second unit director. I’ve always wanted to do the gun barrel sequence. We had great standby team, so they built a little gun barrel which was operated on rope to pull down. I could do that opening walking across, turning, aiming,  firing and saying: my name is Bond. They’ve arranged with a special effects team to have snow hoses ready, so as soon as I’ve finished saying that, they turned on the snow hoses on me and absolutely covered me in snow. I was wearing my one and only dinner suit and this night was the night that I was gonna go to Stoke Poges, because there was the Variety Club tribute to John Barry and I’ve been invited to that. I had quickly brushed my dinner suite trying to get it ready but it was stiff as a board by the time I got to the party. I am affraid I had rather lot of drink while we were there. We were raising money for the charity. One of the prizes was to have dinner with John and Laurie Barry. I sort of staggered over were Mr Barry was sitting. The first bid went up so I put my hand. It quickly went to 500 pounds so I didn’t bid for that anymore. Barbara Broccoli was sitting next to Mr Barry and everytime the bid went up she kept putting my arm up. So I ended up bidding 1750 pounds and won the dinner. I was thinking how to tell my wife about that when I went home. But it was a marvelous evening and we had a wonderful dinner with him, although Barbara kept calling me John Barry’s stalker. Everytime I went to say something she was stopping me so my wife had a great time with John Barry and I only occasionaly got to say something but he was wonderful man and his wife Laurie was very, very kind. I met them again several times after that because a great friend of mine plays in the English Chamber Orchestra which Mr Barry used to use for recording the soundtracks. So in 1999 when they would do a concert in Royal Albert Hall and also in Birmingham I got a backstage pass so I could go and sit at the rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall. I bumped in Mrs Barry and she was very, very kind. Then my friend in the orchestra introduced me again to John Barry and we got to talking about ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, which Mr Barry didn’t want to talk much about. I think he had very rushed time period trying to get that score together. I think it is a great score, but I don’t think it is one of his favourites. John Barry was just a genius of what he did. ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ has got every piece of music, it is simply magical. It just makes the whole film fantastic experience. It is not just visual, auraly you are having a great time as well.

Your next James Bond film was ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’.

Yes. I’ve worked with Callum McDougall on ‘101 Dalmatians’ which we filmed in 1996. When ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ came out the miniatures unit was gonna go to the Rosarito tank in Baja, California. Callum suggested I could meet up with John Richardson, who was going to direct it and maybe go as his assistant director or production manager. I ended up going there as a production manager because there was an assistant director who would work on ‘Titanic’ and knew the studio. That was really exciting, because that was really my first trip across to America and I was having to go up to Los Angeles and doing deals with getting lightning and equipment. The studio manager of Rosarito was a lovely man called Charlie who had been there during ‘Titanic’. I ended  up having James Cameron’s office. When they had finished we moved in and I ended using his office as my office, so that was quite nice. When you are doing the model unit or miniature unit you haven’t got the pressure of looking after actors and all the problems that would go with that. You could just really concentrate on the crew and getting the brilliant shots which they did. I think that the miniature work in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ is superb with the stealth boats and sinking of a frigat and everything. I really, really enjoyed it. I have to thank Callum for that. After that there was ‘The World Is Not Enough’ in which Vic Armstrong was second unit director. I’ve been filming out in South Africa on a film with Hugh Hudson called ‘I Dreamed of Africa’ with Kim Basinger. I got a phone call to find out if I would be interested in working on ‘The World Is Not Enough’. I said: ‘Of course, abslolutely I would be interested’. When I got back to England I had an interview with Vic and also Terry Madden who was Vic’s first. I’ve known Terry since 1975. I was his unit runner and he was a third assistant director on film for Walt Disney Productions called ‘Pit Ponies’, which now has became ‘Escape from the Dark’. So I’ve known Terry for long time. He is a great friend. So I worked on ‘The World Is Not Enough’. We had a wonderful sequence up in the Chamonix. We had the amazing chase on the river Thames as well. I think that ‘The World Is Not Enough’ is very underrated film. There are somem great stuff in the film. The boat chase for me is just fantastic.

Have you been working on all these sequences?

Yes. I was in Chamonix and then I was in charge with the second unit on the Thames. I don’t know if you have ever had a chance to see extended version of the boat chase on 2-disc DVD version. That is the one where I am in. I played this French waiter that had to jump up when the boat crashes through the restaurant and impacts into the Thames near the O2 building. Unfortunately the sequence was going so long and my acting was so bad they cut it out in the main film. It was great fun.

I think it was difficult to get permission to film on the Thames.

There were lots of negotiations. We had a wonderful location department and location manager called Richard Sharkey and Simon Marsden. I remember going to lots of, lots of meetings, especially with the O2 as well, because it was coming up to the year 2000 and that was all getting ready for the turn of the millenium. The boat chase was passing by the Houses of Parliament. I remember that one of members of parliament complained about the noise of the boats but he was told not to warry about it because it was James Bond film and he was great representation of the British around the world, so he was told to be quiet.

When you were filming in Chamonix the weather conditions were not good?

Yes, we lost lots of time. I think that sadly nearly 50 people were killed in various avalanches during the time we were filming there. So we had a lot of time that we had to stand the unit down and try to catch up the time afterwards. I think we had to shoot 10 days in a row if the weather stayed well and obviously make sure that the crew got rested and were looked after, but the weather was very ugly when we were there. I don’t know if you remember that the week after we finished filming there was this terrible fire in a Mont Blanc tunnel, which killed many, many people. It was very tiring time, but the French people vere lovely looking after us. I remember that crew were desperate for English sausages, so we had to keep trying to get people to bring sausages with them whenever they came from Pinewood Studios to Chamonix. There was a time I think, that Virgin trains had just started and on the Virgin trains they had this people called Rocket Men that had dispensers that could dispense hot tee or hot coffee or hot chockolate walking around the trains. We thought that we could use it for our skiers. We got a team to help with catering going around with some very good skiers, local skiers with this Rocket Man bags on their backs and they could go to where the different cameras were, where people were set up and make sure that people got hot soup and water. That worked very well. But that were very tiring conditions. We had some very bad weather there, but as always we got lucky when we needed to get lucky.

Your next film was ‘Die Another Day’.

We shot the opening sequence with hoovercrafts on the army training grounds in Aldershot in a very bad weather conditions. I’ve never seen mud like that. In fact it was so, when the main unit were doing close ups with Pierce. It all was supposed to be shot on location, but the weather was so bad that we had to shoot plates for it and then shot it back in the studio. I think that is the great thing, the great art of production designers like Peter Lamont with all the Iceland sequence. He recreated all those icebergs in RAF land base in Rissington. I don’t think you can tell the difference between the real Iceland where we shot and Rissington. Peter Lamont was just briliant man like Ken Adam. Both Ken and Peter Lamont helped my dad in his career so much. They were both geniuses and lovely people to work for. My dad had always wanted to be an assistant director and he was working as prop man on ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ on which Ken was production designer. I think Peter was set decorator or art director. They gave dad a chance to work as an assistant set decorator which ment he got a union card. Once he got his union card that meant that he could work as an assistant director. He did some work on ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ as the assistant set decorator then went in the another film where he worked as an assistant director and then came back onto ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ to work on the opening sequence of the motorcar races which Peter Hunt directed. He was brilliant editor of the early Bonds and of course the director of my favourite all time Bond ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’.

There was a funny story with your pass that you got while filming ‘Die Another Day’ on Iceland.

Toby Hefferman who is now a very good first assistant director was a second assistant director when we were doing ‘Die Another Day’ on Iceland. To make sure that everybody was kept safe on the ice we issued passes which gave access on the ice during filming. He put down on my pass that my job was ‘ice cream man’, because they were determined not to let me on the ice because I was always slipping over and falling over. Everybody knows that I love ice creams. I’m always trying to organize ice creams on set. That is why they put me down as the ‘ice cream man’ rather then the production manager. That was a joke from Toby and Terry Madden, who was the first.

Did you have any problems with filming on ice?

We were very lucky with ‘Die Another Day’. When we were due to go to Island to do the chase the lake hadn’t frozen properly. We were all worried that it was not going to freeze enough and be solid for us to actually go there. We had to go to Alaska one weekend to do a recognition to see if we may have to move all shoot there. Luckily the ice did freeze so we were able to go to Iceland, but on the last day of filming on the lake began to melt. We just had enough time to do what we needed.

Piotr Zajac (bondlocations): After ‘Die Another Day’ you were working on ‘Casino Royale’ with Daniel Craig as Bond. It was not the first time you met him on film set?

Terry Bamber: I was working in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with Hugh Hudson and Kim Basinger on a film called ‘I Dreamed of Africa’ and that was the first time I met Daniel. He had a part in it. It was hilarious because we were all staying in different lodges around the place and Daniel’s car was always getting lost. There was a wonderful American sitcom called ‘Car 54, Where Are You?’ in the 60’s. We put on a call sheet ‘Daniel Craig’s car 54, where are you?’. Daniel used to play football at lunchtime. We all used to play with locals. It was a great experience. In fact I doubled Daniel in that film. There was the sequence where they were battling to capture a python and my wife doubled Kim Basinger and I doubled Daniel. You could see my wife in it doing the action, but you couldn’t see me. That was dangerous scene. The snake was curling around legs, it was close around me, so it was a bit scary. Great adventure.

How do you remember working on ‘Casino Royale’?

We shot the opening scene in the Bahamas with the free running. It was so exciting. We got some of the best shots ever because we had wonderful, beautiful turquoise blue Bahamas scene in the background when they were jumping from crane to crane. I was actually lucky enough to be part of it. It was amazing.

I think that it was quite difficult to do that stunt because of the height as I’ve seen in a documentary about filming that scene. When the stuntmen were jumping from one crane to another is was windy.

I don’t rember if we had to postpone it for a day or two. When we were doing the aerial photography, I am pretty sure, we shot that on Sunday and we tried to shot with as minimum crew as possible. We had wonderful Mark Wolff who was the helicopter pilot. There were lots of complications. Unfortunately we managed to get rid of two cameras in that sequence. I don’t know if you remember when Bond turns and shoots into bulldozer. The first time we did it we built protection for the cameras but somehow something broke through and we smashed up one camera. We had to do it again the next day. We promised Barbara and Michael that we knew what we were doing. You wouldn’t belive it, it couldn’t be more protected if we were trying to protect the Queen, but one piece of metal or something broke off, shot through the only possible gap it could get through and smashed up the second camera. In the Panavision they weren’t very happy with this and neither were in the main office back in London.

Did you really destroy the building where you were filming opening sequence?

We didn’t really destroy it. We built break away pieces, so we could rebuild it for take two etc. I still don’t know what has happened to that building. I think they were gonna turn it into a police academy and then they stopped it which was why we had the access and we were there. In fact this time now I was probably in the Bahamas 14 years ago while we were setting up for and getting ready for filming.

Do you remember any other interesting facts from the time you were filming ‘Casino Royale’?

We got to shoot Pendolino train flying through the station. We shot the real train going pass the real station with the second unit. The day we shot it was the day when West Ham were playing with Liverpool in a FA Cup final. It was heartbreaking because we’ve lost on penalties to Liverpool. I’ll always remember that because we’ve set it up and we went back to watch some of the fotball because the train wasn’t due to go through until much later that day. We saw some of the football and went back to actually do the shot. So I was very fed up that day. Whenever I see ‘Casino Royale’ that shot with train going by always reminds me how sad it was when West Ham lost to Liverpool.

While watching ‘Casino Royale’ I was wondering how did you film scenes with collapsing building at the end.

The visual effects team did all the plate work. There were Steve Begg and of course Chris Corbould, special effects team. We shot actual sinking house, other than the model that we did in Pinewood, in a tank on 007 stage. I had to go on set to talk to Martin Campbell and I didn’t want to interrupt the filming, so I went at the back of the set. I slid in a scaffold and ended up falling in the tank. Several special effects people had to rescue me because I was not the world’s greatest swimmer.

The whole sequence with sinking house is absolutely stunning. In the plane chase when the 747 is comming into land and it blows the police cars off that is also the combination of special effects art department and visual effects. You can not see any of rejoints. Your suspension or disbelief is held all the way through because you don’t get disrupted, you don’t think: ‘oh, this is a model shot, oh this is CGI’ because it is so briliantly put together. For me that is what true visual effects and computer imaging should be. You shouldn’t think: ‘oh, that is just computer’. You can’t avoid it on film like ‘Transformers’ and all films like that, but on a film like we’ve done where we tried to do everything in camera it was just perfect.

After ‘Casino Royale’ you’ve worked on ‘Quantum of Solace’. There was great opening sequence with car chase filmed at the Lake Garda and Carrara in Italy.

At the Lake Garda we had to close the road. We had to shoot on one side of the road first and then shoot on second side. We kept one road opened for people getting in and out of town. We also had to arrange for ferry to take people in and out of town. Unfortunatelly there was an accident when one of the Aston Martins crashed into the lake. We were setting up for filming and the driver was bringing the Aston Martin for photo shoot. I think it was raining that morning and he lost control on a bend but luckily he hit the barrier. In fact the barrier speared the Aston like it did in the film with the lorry and the car and it flipped backwards over the barrier into the lake. The car hit the water upside down and sank to the bottom. The driver told me the story that it was like James Bond sequence. It must have knocked him down slightly. When he came round he was upside down. It was pitch black. He had to get seatbelts off then his jacket that he was wearing. Luckily the window had smashed so he was able to get out and swim up, because it was only 150 ft. deep there. By that time people were there to rescue him. I can remember that it happened 28 minutes past 6 that I heard about the accident because I thought that it would be another insurance claim, but fortunatelly it wasn’t that bad. I think he had a broken collarbone and had some stitches on his face. It was quite an amazing story how he survived, but that was nothing to do with us. He was doing a publicity shooting arranged by Aston Martin and wasn’t part of filming. There was also an awful accident with a stuntman that happened while we were filming. We had the Medivac standing by that could fly the stuntman directly to hospital. He was in a coma for a long while. It showed again that Barbara and Michael were fantastic there, making sure that we looked after the family, they went to visit him to make sure that everything was OK. It was quite a horrible moment when that happened.

There was an interesting story with Barbara Broccoli going for shopping.

It was on a day off, when I was going to hospital to see the injured stuntman and Barbara said that she wanted to go as well, but she had to do some shopping first. I said: ‘OK, let me know when you are ready and I will drive down with my driver and we will pick you up’. Unfortunately that day there was something going on in Carrara town so they closed all the roads around. Trying to find her was quite difficult. When I found her she had been walking for about half an hour with about six carrier bags of shopping. When I’ve found her I said: ‘I’ve got you, I’m here now’. She hit me and attacked me with the shopping bags and called me with all the names under the sun. At least she got her shopping. We put it to the car and drove up to visit the stuntman.

How did you shoot Palio in Siena?

The year before we actually went into production the Palio was recorded for real with I think 17 cameras. The year before we were filming ‘Quantum of Solace’ we got all the footage of horse racing, so we never actually had to shoot any of the racing when we went to Siena. We just recreated it with a crowd of about 300 extras. Within the square the art department built a hatchway for Bond and the villian to climb out of. That was built to suggest that they came out of the tunnels underneath.

When I was in Siena, I was trying to find the balconies that were used in foot chase sequence in ‘Quantum of Solace’.

The major problem we had in Siena were the cranes that we needed for the harnesses for the camera and to put on the stuntmen for the jumping from building to building. Siena was built on a web of tunnels under the streets and it ended up to cost us a fortune to bring extra cranes and put in a bases down to spread the weight of cranes so we didn’t crash through the steet and ended up underneath. Filming in Siena became very expensive. At one point we had talked about shooting the actual balconies sequencies on a set in Pinewood and then just getting the plates from Siena, but it was decided that we should do it actually in Siena. It is great sequence but very costly.

I couldn’t find these balconies, because they were not real. They were built just for filming, but I expected to see at least some extra holes or extra marks on walls where they were attached.

What we did, we had extra scaffolds in around it. Obviously we were not allowed to damage any of the buildings, so wherever possible we built scaffold in around so we didn’t dig any rigging into the actual framework of the building.

There was also the scene with James Bond jumping on a bus.

The jump on a bus was filmed in different location to the other balconies where they were going from roof to roof. I accidentally made a mark on a wall of one of the buildings which was very unfortunate because it was a very expensive building.

Which parts of that sequence were filmed in Pinewood Studio.

We built the tunnel for the chase in Pinewood and also the church tower. The bell tower. We had all the background plates from Siena that were added by visual effects team. I think it looks convincing, the combination of what we’ve shot and the great work of the visual effects team. I’ve only ever been able to be first assistant on a Bond film on very few days when Terry Madden was busy or he was doing something else. That tower sequence was one of the days when I was firsting for Dan Bradley and that was with Daniel. That was great fun.

In which sequences you were involved in ‘Skyfall’ ?

We did the opening sequence which we did in Istambul and Adana. Very small second unit went to Shanghai.

I thought that most of Shanghai scenes were filmed in London.

Exactly. It was like Miami in ‘Casino Royale’. A small unit went to get the establishes of Shanghai. The actual sequence when Bond was shooting and so on was done in the studio. In the old days on special TV programmes you would buy a little bit of footage of the city and you would put its name and then cut to wherever you were shooting on location in London or in a studio. At least now we always try to get some part of the location for real, so you realy do believe you are in there. It is a commond feature of filmmaking that rather than trying to take the whole first unit with actors to other country with all the cost it would involve, that you shoot them in the studio under control in safe conditions and the stunt team goes out to do all the hard work with the visual effect team to get plates we need to.

How did you film the opening sequence with motorbikes chase on rooftop in Istambul?

We had big scaffolding rig on which we put the video village so we could see what was being filmed. We’ve built some ramps there. There is a scene where they jump through the window. We had to build ramps to get bikes up. Obviously the art department and special effects would break the window for the boys to crush through there. There were hardly any safe ramps built along a rooftops for the boys that would actually ride in the bikes. There were some points where we had to reinforce but that was as much as possible done for real on that rooftop.

Do you have some interesting stories to tell not related to Bond?

I was working in India on ‘Ra.One’. We were filming in Mumbai. Shah Rukh Khan, whose company was producing the film, was the star. It is well known that Bollywood artists are very difficult to get on set very early in the morning. This particulat day Nicola Pecorini who was director of photography told me that I should tell Shah Rukh Khan off because everybody was ready to go and he was late. I said: ‘I can’t tell Shah Rukh Khan off’. Anyway Shah Rukh Khan arrives and Nicola says to him: ‘Terry is very upset with you. He kept the whole set waiting’. Shah Rukh Khan who had so many followers on Twitter decided to put there: ‘Our first assistant just shouted on me’. Within half an hour I received 300 death threats from his fans. Everybody decided that it was a great joke to play. Some of the stuntmen pretended to be fans trying to break into the studio. Shah Rukh Khan gave me his bodyguards with guns. The English camera crew being very brave put big sign with arrow pointing at me saying: ‘This one is Terry Bamber’. It was only towards the end of a day. Even my driver came up and said: ‘I can’t give you a drive back to the hotel Mr. Terry because I’ve got a wife and two children and we might get killed. Shah Rukh Khan finally decided to put on Twitter that I hadn’t really shouted and I was a nice person. Suddenly I got 300 new friends on Twitter after that. That was a hilarius day, very funny. I love working on Bollywood films, I love working with Indian crew. In fact one of my oldest friends is lovely man called Rajen Rajkhowa with whom I first worked in 1992 when we were doing ‘Young Indiana Jones’. He had worked as a sound assistand on ‘Octopussy’. He’s got some great pictures of him and on a set with Sie Roger Moore and everybody. Everybody loves working on Bond films. Everybody loves being involved in Bond films. It is a fantastic way of staying in touch with everybody around the world. It is something that is always part of my life. I can remember looking at the ‘You Can Only Live Twice’ volcano set as if it was yesterday and the impact it had on me. They are great films, great music.

Thank you very much for telling so many great stories.

 

‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ in Hamburg, Germany

23 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in Hamburg, Tomorrow Never Dies

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In ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) followed Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) to Hamburg in Germany. At the airport he got specially equipped BMW 750 from Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Bond went to a big party organized by his opponent. There he met his former lover – Paris (Teri Hatcher), who had married Elliot Carver. Jealous husband ordered his subordinates to get rid of 007, who managed to come out of trouble and return to hotel. Paris Carver was already waiting for him in his room.

Bond sneaked into the printing house of Carver’s press empire. There he found entrance to secret laboratory. He had to run away in a hurry after being discovered by security. He left the building and got into the car parked nearby. Driving a car he was talking on the phone with Elliot Carver. His arrival to the hotel was noticed and reported by Stamper (Gotz Otto), standing on the roof of the opposite building. In the room James Bond found Paris dead and assassin – dr. Kaufmann (Vincent Schiavelli). James Bond killed that man and escaped from the room on the roof of the hotel. In a multi-storey car park he used mobile phone to remotly drive his car to escape from a group of  opponents and finally knocked BMW into the AVIS window.

The sequence descriped above was located in Hamburg, but only part of it was filmed in Germany. Indoor scenes were filmed mostly in Great Britain. James Bond’s meeting with Q was filmed at the Hamburg airport on march 25th 1997. Carver’s party was filmed in IBM building in London, as well as in Pinewood Studios. Bond’s apartment was filmed in Stoke Poges club in Buckinghamshire and the fight in Carver’s printing house in real printing house in south-east part of London. James Bond ran out and… got into the car parked at Monckebergstrasse in the center of Hamburg in Germany.Monckebergstrasse street in Hamburg, Germany

On the left side of the first picture you can see part of the pavement where 007’s car was parked. There is a city hall tower in background. The scene with Bond driving and talking on the phone was filmed nearby at Ballindam street (next photo).Ballindam street in Hamburg, Germany

While he was driving, different buildings were visible in background on the other side of the Inner Alster Lake, also called Binnenalster. There was i.e. Heinrich Hertz Tower that you can see in the next photo.View from Ballindam at Binnenalster in Hamburg, Germany

Restaurant umbrellas obstructed the view, while he was passing by the Inner Alster Lake.View from Ballindam at Binnenalster in Hamburg, Germany

James Bond arrived to real Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg. You can see the entrance at Holzdamm street in the next photo.

Hotel Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg, Germany

His arrival was noticed by Stamper standing on the roof of the building that you can see on the right side of next photo. Hotel Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg, Germany

James Bond left the room and climbed the ladder. As you can see in the next photo the ladder was not there anymore in 2019, when I was in Hamburg.Hotel Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg, Germany

The following car chase sequence was filmed at car parking in London. The scene with BMW 750 at the highest level of parking was filmed back in Hamburg. Currently it is covered as you can see in the next photo. In the film there was fake big ‘ATLANTIC HOTEL’ sign mounted on the roof. In reality the hotel was located about one kilometer away.Hamburg, Germany

At the end of the sequence BMW 750 jumped over Monckebergstrasse street. In the next photo you can see comparison of the film frame (top) and the street in 2019.It is one of many examples how film world differs from reality. The scene on the roof of the parking was filmed on the top of Saturn (on the left in next photo), but the car jumped from the top of the building at Monckebergstrasse street (on the right in next photo).Monckebergstrasse street in Hamburg, Germany

The roof of the building was a bit modified since 1997 as you can see in the next photo.Monckebergstrasse street in Hamburg, Germany

And that is the storefront that played AVIS rental in the film.Monckebergstrasse street in Hamburg, GermanyVisit LOCATIONS GALLERY on top of the page to see locations photos compared with movie scenes.

Information sources:
– ‘James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy’ Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011
– ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ audio commentary, Tomorrow Never Dies Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation 2006

‘007 Bond symfonicznie’ concert in Wroclaw, Poland

29 Wednesday Jan 2020

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On January 18th, 2020 the ‘007 Bond symfonicznie’ concert was held in Radio Wrocław Concert Hall in Wroclaw, Poland. James Bond fans could listen to a number of 007 films title songs performed by orchestra, Quiet Classic choir and soloists: Anna Michałowska, Katarzyna Góras and Mateusz Obroślak. As a surprise for listeners Michalina Goławska from Quiet Classic choir also performed one song solo. Paweł Błędowski was announcing all songs with interesting stories from Bond films. They all deserved a standing ovation.

Tribute to the authors of this project: Emilia Siepkowska and Aleksander Resiak. Great concept, amazing musical arrangements and fantastic performance of all songs.

For information about future concerts visit: bondsymfonicznie.pl

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