Sagaspedia
Easter eggs
Hidden details in every movie and series: 81 in total. Tap a poster to see its eggs. Titles you haven't marked as seen stay locked so nothing gets spoiled.
- Referencenod to comics or other movies
- Cameoa familiar face shows up
- Setupplanted now, pays off later
- Behind the scenesproduction trivia
- Behind the scenesThe stolen Goya in the villain's lair
Dr. No's lair displays Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington, stolen from the National Gallery just before filming. Ken Adam painted the replica over a weekend.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesWho's walking in the gun barrel
Maurice Binder created the gun barrel opening by putting a pinhole camera inside a .38 revolver barrel. The man walking into the sights isn't Sean Connery: it's stuntman Bob Simmons.
source ↗ - SetupSPECTRE's first mention
Over dinner, Dr. No tells Bond he works for SPECTRE, a criminal organization loyal to no flag. Bond turns down the invitation to join. That name comes back later.
source ↗
- SetupThe boss who strokes a cat
SPECTRE's leader is only seen from behind, stroking a white cat. His face stays hidden; Anthony Dawson plays the body and Eric Pohlmann provides the voice.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe last film Kennedy saw
John F. Kennedy named Ian Fleming's novel one of his ten favorite books. The film was the last he watched at the White House, on November 20, 1963, two days before his assassination.
source ↗ - CameoDesmond Llewelyn's debut
Desmond Llewelyn first appears as Major Boothroyd, the equipment officer, handing over the trick briefcase. He'd play the part in 17 films, through 1999.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesAn imaginary Fort Knox
The crew wasn't allowed inside the real Fort Knox, so Ken Adam pictured the vault as a cathedral of stacked gold. The fake bars looked so real that Pinewood posted a 24-hour guard on the set.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe best-selling toy of 1964
The Aston Martin DB5's revolving plates and ejector seat came from crew suggestions; the seat was director Guy Hamilton's stepson's idea. Corgi's die-cast model became the best-selling toy of 1964.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesGoldfinger's borrowed voice
Gert Fröbe spoke little English and learned his lines phonetically. Goldfinger's voice was fully redubbed by actor Michael Collins.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesMeant to be the first film
Thunderball was planned as the series opener, but Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham sued Fleming, saying the novel came from their screenplay. The settlement gave McClory producer credit, and the rights fight would keep going for decades.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe shark got through
In the pool with live sharks, a Plexiglas partition protected Connery. One shark got past it and the actor scrambled out of the water.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe jetpack was real
The rocket belt Bond escapes with in the opening was a working Bell device, later flown at Super Bowl I. John Stears won the Oscar for visual effects for the film.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesWritten by Roald Dahl
The author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory wrote the script. He thought Fleming's novel was weak, kept only four or five elements and created characters like Aki and Helga Brandt.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe flight the crew skipped
In March 1966, part of the crew canceled BOAC Flight 911 back to London to watch a ninja demonstration. The plane crashed 25 minutes after takeoff, killing everyone aboard.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe Blofeld who wasn't scary
Czech actor Jan Werich was cast first but came across as a kindly Father Christmas. Donald Pleasence took over and came up with the eye scar that became the villain's trademark.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesFound in a chocolate commercial
George Lazenby was a model with no acting credits. The producers spotted him in a Fry's chocolate commercial. He was offered seven films and left after this one.
source ↗ - Reference"This never happened to the other fellow"
After the woman runs off on the beach, Bond looks into the camera and says this never happened to the other fellow. It's the film's wink at the change of actor.
source ↗ - CameoEmma Peel becomes Tracy
To balance the newcomer, the producers cast Diana Rigg, already famous as Emma Peel on The Avengers. Brigitte Bardot was approached first.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesA record fee to come back
United Artists paid Sean Connery a then-record $1.25 million to return, plus two films of his choosing.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe Mustang that switches sides
In the Las Vegas chase, the Mustang enters the alley on its right wheels and exits on its left. The continuity slip stayed in the finished film.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA moon buggy with arms
The producers found NASA's lunar rover design not outrageous enough. Builder Dean Jeffries added flailing arms.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesPaul McCartney ate the budget
Paul McCartney and Wings' song took most of the music budget. With no John Barry, the score went to George Martin, the Beatles' producer.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe croc farm owner did the jump
Ross Kananga, who owned the crocodile farm used as a location, did Bond's jump across the animals himself; one tore his trousers. The villain Kananga is named after him.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA film without Q
Q doesn't appear: the producers felt gadgets were taking over the series. It's the only film of the classic era without the character.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesA villain from Fleming's family
Christopher Lee, who plays Scaramanga, was Ian Fleming's step-cousin. Fleming had once suggested him for Dr. No.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe computer-planned corkscrew
The AMC Hornet's 360-degree corkscrew jump over the bridge was first simulated on computer by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. Stuntman Bumps Willert nailed it on the first take.
source ↗ - ReferenceSheriff Pepper on vacation
Sheriff J.W. Pepper from Live and Let Die turns up on vacation in Thailand. Director Guy Hamilton liked the character so much he brought him back.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesThe half-million-dollar ski jump
The ski jump with the Union Jack parachute cost $500,000, the most expensive single stunt at the time. Rick Sylvester got the idea from a whisky ad.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesKubrick helped in secret
The cinematographer's eyesight was failing and he couldn't light the huge 007 Stage. According to Ken Adam, Stanley Kubrick secretly visited to advise.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA promise that didn't hold
At the end of the credits, the card says Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only. Star Wars' success changed the plan and a different film came next.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesKids' letters changed Jaws
Director Lewis Gilbert got letters from kids asking why Jaws couldn't be a good guy. That's why the henchman switches sides over the course of the film.
source ↗ - CameoThe producer shows up twice
Executive producer Michael G. Wilson appears as a tourist outside a Venice glass shop and later as a U.S. Navy technician.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA licorice cable
The cable car wire Jaws bites through with his steel teeth was made of licorice.
source ↗
- ReferenceFlowers on Tracy's grave
The film opens with Bond leaving flowers at the grave of Tracy Bond, his wife from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The headstone reads "We have all the time in the world."
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe bald man with no name
The bald villain with a wheelchair and a white cat in the opening is never named because of the legal fight with Kevin McClory. "We just let people draw their own conclusions," said director John Glen.
source ↗ - CameoThe singer in the titles
Sheena Easton is the only Bond theme singer to appear on screen in the title sequence. Maurice Binder liked her so much he put her in it.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesMoore was almost replaced
Roger Moore wanted out, and the producers screen-tested Timothy Dalton, Lewis Collins and James Brolin. When Sean Connery announced a rival Bond film, they talked Moore into staying.
source ↗ - CameoThe tennis pro with a racket weapon
Pro tennis player Vijay Amritraj was the first actor cast; Albert Broccoli met him at Wimbledon. In the film he uses a tennis racket as a weapon.
source ↗ - ReferenceMaud Adams, again
Maud Adams had already played Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun. To explain a Swedish Octopussy, a few lines say she was raised by an Indian family.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesBowie said no
David Bowie turned down Max Zorin: he didn't want to spend five months watching his stunt double fall off cliffs. Sting was approached too before Christopher Walken signed on.
source ↗ - CameoDolph Lundgren as an extra
Dolph Lundgren was on set visiting his girlfriend, Grace Jones. Director John Glen put him in as a KGB agent in the racetrack scene.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesDuran Duran asked for it
Bassist John Taylor, a bit drunk at a party, asked Broccoli when he'd get someone decent to do a theme song. Duran Duran's song went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesBrosnan missed his turn
Pierce Brosnan was offered the role, but NBC renewed Remington Steele and held him to his contract. Timothy Dalton accepted by phone from a hotel at Miami airport.
source ↗ - CameoJohn Barry's farewell
It's John Barry's last Bond score. In the Vienna finale, he appears conducting the orchestra.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesTwo versions of the theme
a-ha wrote the theme with Pål Waaktaar, but the band and John Barry didn't get along. The result was two versions of the song.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesIt was Licence Revoked
The original title was Licence Revoked, changed because American test audiences thought of driver's licenses. It was the first Bond film not named after a Fleming story.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe shark came from the book
The shark attack on Felix Leiter and the note "He disagreed with something that ate him" come from Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, which the 1973 film left out.
source ↗ - CameoA very young Benicio del Toro
Henchman Dario is Benicio del Toro, 21, in one of his first film roles. Singer Wayne Newton plays televangelist Joe Butcher.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesThe first female M
Judi Dench is the first woman to play M. The choice followed Stella Rimington becoming head of MI5 in 1992.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe best stunt ever
The 720-foot bungee jump in the opening was shot at Switzerland's Contra Dam. A 2002 Sky Movies poll voted it the best movie stunt of all time.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA studio in an engine factory
Pinewood was booked, so Eon turned an old Rolls-Royce factory into stages. GoldenEye was the first production at Leavesden Studios.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesA fax changed the title
The title was meant to be Tomorrow Never Lies, after the villain's newspaper. A fax was misread as Tomorrow Never Dies, and MGM liked it so much it stuck.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesGoodbye, Walther PPK
It's the Walther P99's debut in Bond's hand, replacing the PPK he'd carried since Dr. No, except in Moonraker.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesA tribute to Cubby Broccoli
It was the first Bond film made after producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli died, and the end credits are dedicated to him. It was also the last released under the United Artists label.
source ↗
- CameoIf you're Q, he's R?
John Cleese debuts as Q's assistant. Bond can't resist: "If you're Q, does that make him R?"
source ↗ - Behind the scenesDesmond Llewelyn's last scene
It was Desmond Llewelyn's final film as Q, after 36 years. He hadn't announced his retirement, but died in a car crash shortly after the premiere.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesHe found Tracy, but it was Blofeld
Producer Barbara Broccoli summed up Elektra like this: Bond thinks he's found Tracy, but he's really found Blofeld. She's the series' first female main villain.
source ↗
- ReferenceThe old gadget storeroom
For the series' 40th anniversary, the film nods to every earlier entry. Q's storeroom holds the Thunderball jetpack and Rosa Klebb's bladed shoe from From Russia with Love.
source ↗ - ReferenceJinx's orange bikini
Halle Berry walks out of the sea in an orange bikini with a knife on her belt, just like Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr. No.
source ↗ - CameoMadonna on the fencing floor
Madonna sings the theme and appears as Verity, the fencing instructor at the club where Bond faces Graves. The song got both a Golden Globe and a Razzie nomination.
source ↗
- Behind the scenes"James Bland"
Daniel Craig's casting in 2005 sparked fan protests and even a website against him. The Daily Mirror ran "The Name's Bland – James Bland." Craig refused to dye his hair.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesSeven record-breaking rolls
On the Montenegro road, the Aston Martin DBS rolls seven times, launched by an air cannon. The stunt made Guinness World Records.
source ↗ - CameoThe founder of free running
Mollaka, the man Bond chases in Madagascar, is Sébastien Foucan, one of the founders of free running. The idea came from a documentary produced by screenwriter Neal Purvis's wife.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesRewritten by Bond himself
Paul Haggis turned in his script two hours before the 2007 writers' strike. Unable to hire anyone, Daniel Craig and director Marc Forster rewrote scenes themselves.
source ↗ - ReferenceCovered in oil, not gold
Strawberry Fields is found dead on the bed, covered in oil. It's a direct nod to Jill Masterson covered in gold in Goldfinger.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesGal Gadot auditioned
A then-unknown Gal Gadot auditioned for Camille. Olga Kurylenko got the part, but the audition helped launch Gadot's career.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesAn offer made at a party
Daniel Craig offered Sam Mendes the job after a few drinks at Hugh Jackman's Christmas party. The next morning he told Barbara Broccoli: "I think I might have offered Sam Mendes the next movie."
source ↗ - ReferenceGoldfinger's DB5 is back
Bond pulls the gadget-loaded Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger out of a garage. When M complains, he threatens to hit the ejector seat button.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe first theme to win an Oscar
Adele's Skyfall was the first Bond theme to win the Oscar for Best Original Song. It premiered on James Bond Day, 50 years after Dr. No opened.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesHinx says one word
Dave Bautista's henchman Mr. Hinx says a single word in the whole film, and it's a curse. It's a throwback to the silent henchman, like Oddjob.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe biggest movie explosion
The desert base explosion, shot in Morocco, set a Guinness record: 8,140 liters of kerosene and 24 charges of one kilogram of explosives each.
source ↗ - ReferenceA train fight, like 1963
The dining-car fight with Hinx echoes the Orient Express brawl with Red Grant in From Russia with Love.
source ↗
- ReferenceAll the time in the world
Louis Armstrong's song from On Her Majesty's Secret Service plays in the film, and Bond says the title line to Madeleine. It's the Craig era's strongest nod to the 1969 film.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe first American director
Cary Joji Fukunaga was the first American to direct an Eon Bond film. Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge polished the script at Daniel Craig's request.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesBillie Eilish at 18
Billie Eilish recorded the theme at 18, the youngest artist to sing a Bond song, with her brother Finneas. It won the Grammy and the Oscar.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesThe title comes from a vow
In 1971 Sean Connery said he'd never play Bond again. The title plays on that, and the script keeps calling Bond too old for the job.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesSteven Seagal broke Connery's wrist
The film's martial arts instructor was Steven Seagal, who broke Connery's wrist in training. Connery didn't find out about the fracture for over a decade.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesNo gun barrel, no theme
Since it's not an Eon film, it couldn't use the gun barrel opening or the James Bond Theme. John Barry declined out of loyalty to Eon, so Michel Legrand scored it.
source ↗
- Behind the scenesFive directors and then some
John Huston, Ken Hughes, Joe McGrath, Robert Parrish and Val Guest each directed segments, with stunt coordinator Richard Talmadge co-directing the finale. Guest turned down a "coordinating director" credit.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesPeter Sellers walked off
Peter Sellers left before finishing his scenes. The editors had to make do with outtakes, and one of his sequences was never shot.
source ↗ - CameoStars passing through
Peter O'Toole and racing driver Stirling Moss appear uncredited. George Raft and Jean-Paul Belmondo get big billing but only turn up in the final brawl.
source ↗
Locked. These details give away parts of the title. Mark it as seen to unlock.
Original text by Sagaspedia. Posters: The Movie Database (TMDB); character photos via Wikipedia. This site uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. All trademarks and titles mentioned belong to their respective owners. Streaming availability may change.
As an Amazon Associate, Sagaspedia earns from qualifying purchases.
About · Contact · Privacy · [email protected]