That's No Moonraker: Live and Let Die

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Date

July 11th, 2020

Summary

Pete and Alex are back for Moore, this time to discuss the 8th James Bond film.

Duration

1:18:30

Notes

Film

• 8th movie based on the 2nd book.
  • Although major plot elements from the novel will be included in future James Bond movies For Your Eyes Only and License to Kill.
• Second film in a row that takes place mostly in America. They also brought Tom Mankiewicz back to write it.
  • They did scout around in Haiti a lot and thought about filming there but it was too politically unstable at the time.
  • They were also scouting in Jamaica where they found a crocodile farm with a sign that said "Warning:trespassers will be eaten" and they loved that.
    • It was owned by a man named Ross Kananga. That name should sound familiar.
• Q does not appear in this film. Only film without Q until the new Casino Royale (2006).
• First African-American love interest for Bond.
• Solitaire (Jane Seymour). Also played Dr. Quinn and was on "Battlestar Galactica".
  • She is partially dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl!

Podcast

• Google brief.
• The producers tried to throw even more money at Sean Connery to get him to come back but he said no.
  • If he had been game, how long would they keep going with him?
  • What else was Sean Connery doing around this time.
    • In addition to his truck load of money for doing Diamonds are Forever Connery was also promised that he could to do two films all his own.
• Other actors considered (besides the ones mentioned last movie):
  • Michael Billington (front-runner) if Roger Moore couldn't do it (recall they wanted Moore since at least On Her Majesty's Secret Service if not as early as Dr. No, though he would have been a little too young for that one).
    • They screen tested him for this, Moonraker, and Octopussy. He was there every time Roger Moore was thinking about asking for more money.
    • He does actually appear on screen in a later film in the series.
  • United Artists still wanted an American but the producers said "no has to be British".
  • Also considered: William Gaunt, John Ronane, Simon Oates Jeremy Brett (TV's Sherlock Holmes), John Gavin (mentioned last time) and Julian Glover (General Veers).
• Prior to this project, Roger Moore was definitely Pete's James Bond of record.
• Kananga is very guilty of the James Bond trope of letting him escape from an elaborate execution. Flash forward to Octopussy.
  • The way that Bond escapes from the Crocodile Island was suggested by and performed by the real Kananga. Referenced: Pitfall.
• Cold open: the best way to introduce a new James Bond is in bed with a woman.
  • Contrast with how they introduced George Lazenby Bond.

Recall that, for Diamonds are Forever, Moneypenny wanted more pay but they didn't give it to her and she ended up relenting and filming her scenes later. During the filming of this movie, a technical error resulted in them having to delay shooting two days and that amount of pay was more than the increase she was asking for in the last movie.

• This movie suffers very badly from the xenophobia we see in other James Bond movies and exoticism of black people.
  • Blaxploitation was huge at the time.
  • The movie is very "of the time" – it's James Bond in: blaxploitation.
  • Yaphet Kotto in particular was not pleased with his portrayal in the movie.
• Solitaire's tarot reading skills.
  • The "King Kong vibe".
  • Her power and her virginity.
• American CIA agent is very incompetent. It's bad both racially and misogynistically. Reference to Police Academy.
  • Gloria Hendrix (Rosie Carver).
  • Progressive and reductive at the same time in a weird way.

The title sequence.

• Mentioned Alphabeatical. Pete doesn't hate Paul McCartney.
  • Pete: "Live and Let Die" is not a good James Bond song but it is a good Paul McCartney song.
  • This song kind of breaks the mold, it seems like they are trend-chasing
  • No John Barry.
  • McCartney doing the song was controversial at the time.
  • This song used to scare Alex as a kid when he would hear it on the radio.
  • Still Maurice Binder. Referenced: the Roll Call of Heroes.
  • Paul McCartney on writing the opening theme: <Pete paraphrasing> "Yeah it was really hard. I wrote it one day and went in next week and did it".
    • Hired B. J. Arnau to record it. But Paul wouldn't let them use it unless they had him sing it.
      • The Arnau version is in the movie in the nightclub – the theme song is sung diegetically in the movie.
  • They blew all their money on McCartney, so they got George Martin to score the film. It's a producer's soundtrack not a composer's soundtrack.

• TeeHee and Whisper, themed henchmen.
  • Fake arm is terrible.
• Lengthy discussion of Geoffrey Holder (7up guy) and his varied and prolific career and many honors.
• Mr. Big and his fake face make no sense.
• Women are generally not the Macguffin in James Bond movies.
• The book was more rooted in the Cold War.
• Establishing shot of the U.N. Building, and our hosts' personal connections to the area.

Potpourri notes

the whole hillbilly sheriff subplot kind of derails everything. Feels like a J. W. Pepper (Clifton James, very very similar character in Superman 2) backdoor pilot. He will be back.

James Bond sticks out like a sore thumb in Harlem. The audience is supposed to sympathize with Bond, but he's being an uncharismatic jerk.

Quotes

• Alex: Farewell to my bad Sean Connery impression, say hello to my bad Roger Moore impression.
• Pete: Whatever principality was willing to supplicate themselves the most, they get it.
• Pete: "Go Ahead and Die": that's the 17th film, I think.

Star Wars names

Star Wars pun names for Live and Let Die
Alex	Live and Let Die wanna wanga. (With inspiration from Pete) Live and Let Dianoga.
Pete	Revan Let Die Live and Let TIE

Link (Patreon supporters only)

https://www.patreon.com/posts/thats-no-live-38826834

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