He first met this chap in 1995 when he made GoldenEye, itself a milestone in the character's lifeline. He's used to it by now, but this time, if he can't pull it off, the plunge will be spectacular, taking with him not just the new movie but the entire future of Ian Fleming's most famous literary creation.Ĭampbell knows this. As he approaches his 50th anniversary and his sixth incarnation, this character is facing his most daunting mission yet. And, oh yes, he's survived death by hat too.) But this character is about to change. (Gun crime is old hat in intelligence circles. This guy has been on the screen since 1962, and in the 44 years that followed has survived assassination attempts by means as diverse as poison gas, death ray, crocodile and spider. Not that this character needs any introduction. Five words that put you right there, in a world of espionage, elegant cocktails (shaken, not stirred) and fast cars. The line he's talking about is possibly the most famous line in movie history, or rather the most repeated line in movie history. But then again, it could just be that it goes without saying. It may be because he has just five weeks to finish up the 21st and possibly most important movie in Britain's most lucrative film franchise, and this fuel break will be his only escape for the foreseeable future.
He doesn't even look up from his dim sum when he says this. “We never test the line,” says Martin Campbell.
