GoldenEye: Film – Trivia
- Pierce Brosnan’s first appearance as James Bond. He was offered the role in The Living Daylights (1987), but lost it due to his contractual obligations to “Remington Steele” (1982).
- Before Pierce Brosnan was cast as James Bond, Liam Neeson, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, Hugh Grant and Lambert Wilson were all rumoured to be in the running for the role.
- Actresses considered as Bond girls were Elizabeth Hurley and Elle Macpherson. Paulina Porizkova and Eva Herzigova were offered the role of Natalya but turned it down.
- Several changes had to be made to the script during production because the plot was virtually identical to True Lies (1994) which was being released at the time.
- The Bond film to follow Licence to Kill (1989) (which eventually became GoldenEye (1995)) was supposed to be released in 1991 or 1992, but legal squabbles over the ownership of James Bond, disappointing box office results on Licence to Kill (1989), and the death of longtime screenwriter Richard Maibaum, delayed the start of production for several years. Although he was contracted to play Bond a third time, after several years elapsed with no new film, Timothy Dalton announced he didn’t want to play the role again. This opened the door for Pierce Brosnan.
- First Bond film in many years not to have its title sequence designed by Maurice Binder, who died after Licence to Kill (1989) was released.
- First opening titles sequence directed by title designer Daniel Kleinman picking up the baton after Maurice Binder. In between the making of this film and the last Bond film Licence to Kill (1989), long-time series title designer Maurice Binder passed away.
- Vehicles featured included Xenia Onatopp’s red Ferrari Spider F 355 GTS sports car; a surprise tractor; a blue BMW Z3 roadster convertible; the return of the silver birch Aston Martin DB5 which had originally appeared in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965); a British Rail Class 20 No. D8188 locomotive with additional Russian-looking armoured plating; a T-55 tank adapted to look like a T-80BV Russian tank; four helicopter makes: Eurocopter 355 Twin Star, Robinson R-22 Beta, Bell 204 HUEY, and Eurocopter PAH-2 Tiger Stealth helicopters; a speedboat; a Mercedes-Benz 280E; the Manticore Yacht; a GAZ-3102 Volga passenger car; a Mera Cagiva 600 W 16 motorbike; a Zabrosh (Moskvich); a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo-Porter airplane; three Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft and Jack Wade’s Cessna 172 aeroplane .
- The satellite dish used in the end of the film is the same one used in the film Contact (1997). It is the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.
- Near the end of the film a computer displays “Pevsner Commerzbank GmBH”, a reference to executive producer Tom Pevsner.
- The Rolling Stones were offered the chance to sing the title song, but declined.
- “Goldeneye” is the nickname of Bond creator Ian Fleming’s beachfront house in Jamaica where (between 1952 and 1964) he wrote the Bond novels and short stories.
- Long-standing visual effects supervisor Derek Meddings died of natural causes during the production of the film, hence the dedication of the film to him.
- First completely original James Bond film, without reference to any Ian Fleming novel or short story.
- Second and last Bond film to be turned into a novel by then-current James Bond writer, John Gardner.
- In the script, M’s real name is Barbara Mawdsley.
- The scene where Xenia kills the old man qualifies as the first actual sex scene shown in an official Bond film. (There is a love scene between Sean Connery and Barbara Carrera in Never Say Never Again (1983), but that isn’t an official Bond).
- One of the sounds/noises during the attack on the GoldenEye control station by GoldenEye itself, seems to be exactly the same humming noise the CRM-114 makes, when it receives a message in the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
- As the Bond series traditional home at Pinewood Studios was unavailable, the producers created a new studio from a former Rolls-Royce aircraft engine factory. This studio, at Leavesden in Hertfordshire, was subsequently used for Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). GoldenEye (1995) was the first film to shoot at Leavesden Studios.
- Although it is alleged that Pierce Brosnan’s contract to play James Bond specifically prohibited him from appearing in other films wearing a tuxedo, he nevertheless appears in a tuxedo in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) which followed Brosnan’s first James Bond appearance in Goldeneye by more than a year.
- The black-haired Tiger helicopter pilot Onatopp shoots before she steals it is the same man who performed the bungee stunt in the opening sequence.
- The pen grenade given to 007 by Q in this film is actually a stainless steel Parker Jotter.
- Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] the producer appears as a member of the Russian Security Council.
- For the first time, computer graphics were used to create the famous “gun barrel” opening.
- The new arrangement of the Bond theme used in the opening was disliked by many fans and was replaced by a more traditional version in future films.
- During years that the Bond film that eventually became GoldenEye was in a legal quagmire, it went through several title and concept changes. Initially, Michael G. Wilson and Alfonse Ruggiero wrote a script treatment under the title “Property of a Lady” which would have seen the Bond film series briefly return to using Ian Fleming titles. According to what little evidence is available about this script (and is printed in the book The Bond Files by Andy Lane and Paul Simpson), the film would have taken place in Hong Kong.
- Swedish pop music group ‘Ace of Base’ was originally slated to perform the title theme song. ‘Ace of Base’ recorded the song, written by the band’s own Jonas Berggren, but it was pulled out of the project by their then record label. ‘Ace of Base’ later re-wrote the lyrics to the song, renaming it “The Juvenile”, and put it on their album, “Da Capo”, released in Europe in late 2002. The song was even released as a single off of that album in Germany in December 2002.
- Features the highest bungee jump from a structure in a film. The drop was over 722 ft.
- The first of the James Bond films ever to be released on DVD.
- Because the series was caught up in litigation, the six-and-a-half-year hiatus between the release of Licence to Kill (1989) and _Goldeneye (1995)_ was the longest gap between Bond films since the series first started in 1962.
- The body count is around 100.
- “Goldeneye” was also the code name of a contingency plan that the Allies devised in the event of a Nazi invasion of Spain. This plan was concocted in part by Ian Fleming himself, as an SIS agent.
- The plane that Wade delivers to Bond (borrowed from a friend in the DEA) is a reference to Licence to Kill (1989). Franz Sanchez attempts to escape in a plane of the same make, model, and series (but with a different registration) before his capture by the DEA.
- Composer John Altman provided the music for the tank chase, after it was decided that Éric Serra’s initial arrangement was not to be used. It appears on the soundtrack CD as “Pleasant Drive in St. Petersburg”.
- The theme song was written by Bono and The Edge of U2 and performed by Tina Turner. Bono’s inspiration for writing the song was his stay with his wife in Ian Fleming’s Jamaican beach house, named Goldeneye.
- The 6-year, 4-month gap between this film and Licence to Kill (1989) is the longest between any of the Bond films.
- The song “The Experience of Love”, which appears during the end credits is actually a sped-up version with lyrics of a select sequence from Éric Serra’s score from his previous film, Léon (1994)
- At the time the script was being written the producers were under the assumption that Timothy Dalton would be renewing the role of Bond. It was written to match Dalton’s darker, more realistic portrayal of 007.
- Alan Rickman turned down the role of Alec Trevelyan, stating that he was tired of playing villains.
- Final James Bond film viewed by Albert R. Broccoli.
- The license plate number of the red Ferrari 355 Berlinetta GTS sports car that Xenia Onatopp races with James Bond during the beginning of the film was 630 NAC 75.
- Aston Martin DB5 that Brosnan drove in the first car chase scene has license plate BMT 214A. The Aston used in Goldfinger and Thunderball had plate BMT 216A.
- Cameo: [Martin Campbell] [The director as one of the cyclists who get toppled over when James Bond and Xenia Onatopp race past them.]
- Cameo: [Minnie Driver] [As Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky’s (Robbie Coltrane) mistress, Irina. She can be seen in the scene at the nightclub singing behind the microphone.]
- In the original script, Admiral Farrell was to be an American. According to David L. Robb’s book “Operation Hollywood” this was changed at the request of the US Pentagon.
- Swedish band ‘Ace of Base’ were first offered the chance to write and record a theme song. In 1995, band lyricist Jonas Berggren penned a theme but pressures from the group’s then record label forced him to discard the song and pass the duties on to Tina Turner.
- Renny Harlin was offered to direct this film.
- The opening weekend box office gross was slightly altered to $26,205,007. The same last three digits were used in the reports for the opening weekends of the next two Bond films as well.
- Alec Trevelyan’s dark colored locomotive in the film was nicknamed on the set as “Darth Train”.
- The name of Jack Wade’s third wife which was tattooed on his arm was Muffy Rose
- The code for the magnetic pulse blast was 194668PT
- The registration identifier for Jack Wade’s plane was N96816.
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