Brosnan & Apted
take to the Thames
Friday
May 14, 1999
LONDON - 007 made his second appearance on the Thames this Friday and this time the first unit, including Director Michael Apted, joined him.
Filming has been going on with the second unit since the end of March with most of the action being directed by Vic Armstrong, and most of the stunts being done by Wade Eastwood. But this time the 'real' Bond took the wheel and plunged the Q boat into action.
David Williams reports from London:
Pierce Brosnan returned to film for the
Thames pre-titles sequence today, and he brought the 1st unit
with him. This was the first time we had seen Michael Apted
and his crew on the Thames or in Docklands.
As I was talking to my friend on the dockside, Pierce walked purposefully passed us and stepped into the 'Q' boat. Both he and his double, Wade Eastwood, roared off in separate boats to join the director and the camera crews which were in position further along the dock.
After receiving orders via his radio, Pierce set off to get in position for filming. Aiming directly at the cameras, he gunned the boat and set off some small explosives along both sides of the boat, simulating gunfire. After a successful take, Pierce gave a 'thumbs up' to the director.
They then set up for some shots of Bond following in the wake of the Cigar-Girls boat, provided in this instance by Wade in the other 'Q' boat.
During a short break for lunch, Pierce climbed onto the
dockside for a bite to eat and a short nap in the bright
sunshine. After lunch, the next sequence involved the use of
smoke flares and flames provided by gas jets on the Dockside,
to simulate Bond's boat arriving up against some burning
debris. As they were filming this, the heavens opened and
everyone got wet. All the boats then headed back to base, and
we headed for cover, which is in short supply in the exposed
Victoria Docks.
After an hour or so, Pierce climbed back into the boat and was filmed pushing the 'Q' boat forward into the water and going underwater, drenching himself in the process. The final sequence of the day was filmed with Pierce in the 'Q' boat with the camera mounted on the front of the boat performing a straight run along the dockside.
At 6pm, the latest we had seen them film, Pierce climbed out of his boat and celebrated with the rest of the crew with a welcome glass of champagne. How the other half live!