BOND: 10 Things You Might Not Know About THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Geek Dave always has an escape plan.

1. In November 1997, a month prior to the release of Tomorrow Never Dies, Barbara Broccoli watched a news report on Nightline detailing how the world's major oil companies were vying for control of the untapped oil reserves in the Caspian Sea in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, and suggested that controlling the only pipeline from the Caspian to the West would be an appropriate motivation for a potential Bond villain.

2. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson hired screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to work on the film following their work on Plunkett & Macleane; Purvis and Wade would eventually write or co-write all of the proceeding Bond films up to No Time to Die. Broccoli was especially impressed by the writers' suggestion of a female villain, stating that,

"With Elektra, Bond thinks he has found Tracy, but he's really found Blofeld".

3. Joe Dante was initially offered the opportunity to direct the film but passed. Peter Jackson was then considered as Barbara Broccoli had enjoyed Jackson's Heavenly Creatures. After a screening of Jackson's 1996 film The Frighteners was arranged for her, she changed her mind about Jackson as she disliked it.

During publicity for the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Jackson was asked about directing a Bond film. He talked about being a lifelong Bond fan and how he'd come close with The World Is Not Enough. He then remarked that as Eon tended to go for less famous directors, he would likely not get another chance to direct a Bond film after The Lord of the Rings. (a-hem Sam Mendes).

4. Although The World Is Not Enough premiered in November 1999, it was rumoured to be titled Bond 2000. Other rumoured titles at the time included Death Waits for No Man, Fire and Ice, Pressure Point and Dangerously Yours.

5. The title The World Is Not Enough is an English translation of the Latin phrase Orbis non sufficit (the phrase originates from the epitaph of Alexander the Great). In the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service and its film adaptation, this is revealed to be the Bond family motto, and appears on the Bond family Coat of Arms created as part of the cover for the re-released novelisation of the 1969 movie.

6. Denise Richards was cast as Dr. Christmas Jones, an American nuclear physicist assisting Bond in his mission. Richards stated that she liked the role because it was "brainy", "athletic", and had...

"depth of character, in contrast to Bond girls from previous decades".

Upon release, critics frequently questioned Richards' casting, but it was later reported that EON had auditioned Geri Halliwell and Tiffani Thiessen for the role, so clearly the bar was not set high!

7. The pre-title sequence lasts for about 14 minutes, making it the longest pre-title sequence in the Bond series to date. But it wasn't supposed to be anywhere near that long as it was changed at the last minute. Originally, the pre-credits sequence was to have ended with Bond's leap from the window and descent to the ground, finishing as Bond rushes away from the area as police cars approach. Then, after the credits the sequence in MI6 headquarters would have been next, with the boat scenes the next major action sequence. However, after initial test audiences found the pre-credits scenes to be lacklustre, especially when compared to ones from previous 007 films, the credits were pushed back to appear after the boat sequence.

8. A couple of Easter Eggs to look out for. In the Scottish Headquarters castle, a portrait of Bernard Lee (the original M) hangs behind the current M's (Dame Judi Dench's) desk, and in the warehouse that Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) has turned into an operations room, the girlie pictures seen on the walls are of former Bond Girls.

9. The World Is Not Enough earned a final worldwide gross of $361 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing James Bond film of the 20th Century (the following release, Die Another Day, would beat that though). The film also holds another accolade, but not one it would probably like to be associated with...

The World Is Not Enough became the first in the Bond series to win a Golden Raspberry when Denise Richards was chosen as "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 1999 Razzie Awards. Richards and Brosnan were also nominated for "Worst Screen Couple" (they lost to Will Smith and Kevin Kline for Wild Wild West).

10. Desmond Llewelyn made his seventeenth and final appearance as Q during The World Is Not Enough. Beginning with From Russia with Love in 1963, Llewelyn played the quartermaster of the MI6 gadget Lab (also known as Q Branch), in every previous EON Bond film (ith the exception of Live and Let Die in 1973). He was the only actor in the original Bond series to have worked alongside the first five to play 007 - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

Although the actor was not officially retiring from the role, the Q character was seen training his eventual replacement in this film, but during publicity for the release of The World Is Not Enough, Llewelyn spoke about returning for Bond 20. Sadly, he was killed in a car accident on December 19th 1999, shortly after the film's premiere.