25 replies to this topic

[Blue Eyes]

English actress Rosamund Pike, who will star as Miranda Frost in Bond 20, has spoken with Empire Online about her role in the next Bond film. To begin with, Pike confirmed her characters name change from Gala Brand to Mirandra Frost saying "She's called Miranda Frost, which is a good name. It was going to be Gala Brand, and then we created this new one."

Pike has also described the role of her character. Spoiler warnings do apply with this information. Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read) "She's an MI6 agent, which is a cool thing to be, sent to work alongside Bond by M and not very happy about it. She would rather go it alone and doesn't quite approve of Bond's methods. He seems to be all fire where she's all coolness and reserve. And then she keeps showing different sides all the way through. Personally, I'm not sure how to react to such a description. Does it seem that Eon are finally giving fans what they want in the form of a female 00 Agent? Thankfully that's a more exciting description, compared to past ones which have made similarities between Miranda Frost and Christmas Jones seem apparent.

In a further description about her character Frost has said, "It's a great way into a part because she's a top sportswoman, so I've got to turn myself into that. She's got one skill that I'm not allowed to tell you about

[Dmitri Mishkin]

Mister Asterix (06 Feb, 2002 03:26 p.m.):
You're worried about James Bond being weak?!

Don't worry about our man James, he can take care of himself.

Here, here.

Very unlikely Bond will need emotional support from Miranda to fulfil his mission.

If it's true that Frost is about "coolness and reserve" and 007 is "all fire" though, I can imagine Pierce getting a good beating by Frost at Fencing.

[zencat]

[quote]Blue Eyes (06 Feb, 2002 07:16 a.m.):
In a further description about her character Frost has said, [i]"It's a great way into a part because she's a top sportswoman, so I've got to turn myself into that. She's got one skill that I'm not allowed to tell you about

[Dr. Shatterhand]

In an interview with Reuters a few weeks ago (and her thick British accent was hard to understand from the tape) Rosamund said her character had won a gold metal in the Olympics. Or perhaps she said she is being trained by a Gold Metalist to do the swordfighting scenes.

Can anyone find out if this is true?

[JimmyBond]

Another possibility. She could be a double agent. Its possible she is working for General Moon as well. There were early rumors that she was the bad girl.

[White Persian]

Smitty (08 Feb, 2002 05:14 p.m.):
Ok I can't tell u who my source is but I can tell u that, yes her character did win Gold in fencing at the Sydney Olympics
Will post more when I know more

If only I'd known, I'd have gone to watch.

[Blue Eyes]

zencat (06 Feb, 2002 05:40 p.m.):
You know, for some reason when I read this I flashed on the old "boxing Bond girl" rumors. Could she be a boxer? Kickboxer? Perhapes she was in an earlier draft and they changed it to fencing.

Bloody good idea Zencat, I totally forgot about such a connection! What if she is also a kickboxer. She describers herself in the interview as a sportswoman, evidently she has more than fencing up her sleave!

[Tyler]

scaramanga (06 Feb, 2002 04:56 p.m.):
Miranda Frost = Vesper Lynd.

this may sound better than simply a 00 agent.at least it has a twist and some story. And she dies at the end giving bond some emotional impact is very good.

i really do not want a 22 year old girl to be a FEMALE MATCH FOR BOND, she is just too young to be believable and it sounds very degrading to bond as a veteran. and ms pike looks like a fresh 20 year old, if not less.

[White Persian]

mkkbb (06 Feb, 2002 09:24 a.m.):

I hate to see Bond 'squabble' with others, he should be cool, composed and IN CHARGE.

As Scaramanga noted, there seem to be similarities between Frost and Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale.
In CR, Bond was teamed with a female MI6 agent, and bitched about it.
A bit of conflict with the Bond girl, rather than having her instantly succumb to his virile charms, sounds dramatically interesting to me.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Tyler (06 Feb, 2002 09:33 p.m.):

scaramanga (06 Feb, 2002 04:56 p.m.):
Miranda Frost = Vesper Lynd.

this may sound better than simply a 00 agent.at least it has a twist and some story. And she dies at the end giving bond some emotional impact is very good.

i really do not want a 22 year old girl to be a FEMALE MATCH FOR BOND, she is just too young to be believable and it sounds very degrading to bond as a veteran. and ms pike looks like a fresh 20 year old, if not less.

I'm certain that most, if not all, women would like to look younger than they actually are. So maybe Miranda Frost will be older and therefore more mature and experienced than she actually looks, and may specıalıse in the 'honey-trap" type of missions organised by MI6/SIS.

Afterall, Bond on many ocasions has been ordered/required to turn on the charm to push forward his mission objectives. He couldn't do that if he looked like Charles Hawtrey (from the Carry On films ).

So I don't see the Frost character looking too young as being a problem, but how that scenario would fit into the story as we know it so far is a difficult to imagine.

[scaramanga]

I've found the article!
Taken from www.nationalpost.com
[quote]
December 31, 2001


Master of the blades
Bob Anderson has taught swordplay to the greats of the acting world, including elfin Arwen


Richard Cohen
The New York Times

FELPHAM, England - The latest handiwork of Bob Anderson, who has spent nearly 50 years making sword fights on the screen look convincing, can be seen in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings.

Though the battle scenes have drawn praise from some critics, the results are not, Anderson is quick to point out, fencing in the traditional mode.

"We use weird weapons," he said. "It's not fencing, I've got to tell you. It's hammering each other with swords. Tremendous!"

With Tolkien setting his story in Middle-Earth, conjuring up medieval times, Anderson said he had to deal with "all sorts of characters -- barbaric creatures, really ugly-looking brutes." "So I made it bestial, but there's still some really neat swordplay," he added.

Anderson prides himself on his reputation for safety, and will not accept any shortcuts. When Liv Tyler, who plays the young heroine Arwen, was told to practice for her sword fights, she was less than enthusiastic and faced the full force of the sword master's wrath, he said.

"I told her I was going away for a while, leaving her with my assistant," he said. "If she wasn't properly rehearsed on my return, I would report as such to the film's director, Peter Jackson. When I got back, I could see a gleam in my assistant's eye so I knew something was up. Liv put on one of the best fights I've ever seen a girl do."

Anderson is widely acknowledged as the master of his craft. No one else can match his experience, imaginative swordplay or longevity. "It started in 1952," he said. "I was in England, in the Royal Marines, and had made the British sabre team for the Helsinki Olympics."

Ten days before the games he was asked if he was free to act as double and fight arranger in an Errol Flynn movie, The Master of Ballantrae. He said he hit it off with Flynn immediately, but during a duel in Sicily he played a French pirate, and pierced Flynn in the thigh. Flynn said immediately that it was his own fault -- he had been distracted by a boat passing by -- and soon the two men were off drinking together.

But for long afterward fellow stuntmen mercilessly recalled the thrust. "That's the man who stabbed Errol Flynn," they would warn actors, Anderson said.

He went on to work with Flynn on two other movies. During a career of more than 100 films, he doubled for Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, taught Richard Gere his swordplay for First Knight and tutored Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones for The Mask of Zorro.

During half of his film career, he fenced competitively. At the Helsinki Games, he narrowly missed the final because of an injury. In 1954, he was appointed Britain's national coach, remaining until 1979. He won the British sabre title from 1962 to 1964 and the professional championships in all three weapons -- foil, sabre and

[Smitty]

Dr. Shatterhand (06 Feb, 2002 06:30 p.m.):
In an interview with Reuters a few weeks ago (and her thick British accent was hard to understand from the tape) Rosamund said her character had won a gold metal in the Olympics.  Or perhaps she said she is being trained by a Gold Metalist to do the swordfighting scenes.

Can anyone find out if this is true?

Ok I can't tell u who my source is but I can tell u that, yes her character did win Gold in fencing at the Sydney Olympics
Will post more when I know more

[SeanValen]

Bond films like LTK , or TPWLM, features either some or more of someone helping Bond, although if done well, and honest, see no problem, excellent:)

[scaramanga]

Dr. Shatterhand (06 Feb, 2002 06:30 p.m.):
In an interview with Reuters a few weeks ago (and her thick British accent was hard to understand from the tape) Rosamund said her character had won a gold metal in the Olympics.  Or perhaps she said she is being trained by a Gold Metalist to do the swordfighting scenes.

Can anyone find out if this is true?

I remember reading an article a while back which mentioned a sword expert on the set of the film (his name eludes me at the moment). He was a former Olympic gold medalist in fencing and had worked on films such as The Mask of Zorro. Hope this helps.

[mkkbb]

Is this good or not?

I think having a female 00 agent on par with Bond is not right. The films are becoming less about Bond, and more about other characters these days (like giving M more screen time, although I'll pass on that because it was so well done in TWINE).

I hate to see Bond 'squabble' with others, he should be cool, composed and IN CHARGE.

Anyway, I suppose we'd better see it before I shout off about things like this.

[Icephoenix]

ZENCATS SHATTERHAND!!!
A female 00 agent! And she definatly WAS going to be called Gala Brand, until a last minutes name change!!!

Bond 20
Female Agent, (was) Gala Brand.

Shatterhand
Female Agent, Gala Brand.



Zencat! Or should I call u...purvis!!

[Jacques Nexus]

To be working with 007 doesn't mean Frost is a 00 aswell but it would be great to finally see it happen. Personally you should be older to be a 00 but EON or MGM would never hire a more mature actress, no matter how good looking she is. There seems no doubt "Miranda Frost" will be an intelligent Bond girl but let's hope she's also got the sex to go with the smarts.

[mkkbb]

Although these are PC times I would like to see a Bond Girl like Tatiana (FRWL) or Solitaire. A girl that isn't too sure of herself, but isn't a bimbo like Mary Goodnight.

[James Page]

She's an MI6 agent

As Jacques pointed out, she's not necessarily a 00. And going purely on Rosamund's age, I doubt her character would be old enough to have earnt the double-oh prefix.

But this is excellent news all the same!

[Rolex]

Oh dear , could be another Maulder and Scully. Best thing is to kill her off and the end of the film. I would not her becoming a character in further Bond films.

[Tyler]

mkkbb (06 Feb, 2002 10:09 a.m.):
Although these are PC times I would like to see a Bond Girl like Tatiana (FRWL) or Solitaire. A girl that isn't too sure of herself, but isn't a bimbo like Mary Goodnight.

i'm expecting a similar role like this. more suitable for Ms Pike age.

[Tyler]

[quote]mkkbb (06 Feb, 2002 09:24 a.m.):
Is this good or not?.[/quote]

Not good.

I think having a female 00 agent on par with Bond is not right. The films are becoming less about Bond, and more about other characters these days. [/quote]

100% agree.

I hate to see Bond 'squabble' with others, he should be cool, composed and IN CHARGE.[/quote]

i hate Bond bitching with little girl.

quote<<...where she's all coolness and reserve>>

isn't Bond supposed to be all cool and reserve as well?

[mkkbb]

Exactly right Tyler, this could get worrying. With Bond being tortured and possibly injuring M does this mean he is going to lose control and Frost will have to sort him out.

We want a strong Bond, who can pick himself up, fight for himself and for the world, and also pulls a girl on the way!

[Mister Asterix]

You're worried about James Bond being weak?!

How many times has Bond met his female match? And who ends up saving the day at the end? Sure, Agent Frostbrand might save Bond's butt in the middle of the film after he's gone through some unspeakable hell, but by the films final credits we will see who the real hero is and who is will be lying down (undoubtably near water) saying 'Oh James...'. Don't worry about our man James, he can take care of himself.

By the way, I'm hoping Agent Brandfrost is a Single-0 agent.

[JimmyBond]

Mary Goodnight was a MI6 agent, and look how she turned out. I'm not saying Frost will be bad, just saying that this isnt the first time Bond will work with a female agent. I'm sure if she was another 00 she would reveal it in her statement. Something like that is too good not to reveal.

[scaramanga]

Miranda Frost = Vesper Lynd.