-A total of twenty Honda CRF250R motor-cycles were used for the opening motorcycle chase. The sequence is notable for being performed on narrow roof-top tracks and without any helmets or heavy-duty protective gear. The 'Police' and 'Street Merchant' bikes seen were ridden by stunt-riders and due to the high speed of the chase, the stunt crew teams filming it also rode the bikes too in order to carry the cameras. For the film, the Honda motor-bikes were modified especially for the stunt sequence by the special effects team of Chris Corbould.
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-Filming at Pinewood Studios utilized thirty-one different sets on eight different sound stages including the gigantic "007 Stage". Major sets included the Golden Dragon Casino on D Stage and the Paddock Lot, the exterior of the Dead City Island on the North Lot and the interior of MI6's underground bunker headquarters on the "007 Stage", the latter taking 9 weeks and 250 crew to build the set.
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-The quotation that M recites is from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses", e.g. "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield". First published in 1842, its recitation in the film's 2012 release occurs on the poem's 170th Anniversary.
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-The traditional end-of-movie James Bond official series coda "James Bond Will Return" is included during the film's closing credits.
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-The glass set depicting the inside of the Shanghai office skyscraper was nick-named "The Jellyfish." It was built at Pinewood Studios and was likened to being like "a hall of mirrors". 'Skyfall' cinematographer Roger Deakins has said: "Because it was all glass, the crew walking through it kept bashing into things". For filming, Deakins lit the set with two gigantic LED (Light Emitting Diode) panels which were used to represent electronic billboards exterior to the skyscraper's office's windows. The production had originally location scouted for a Chinese skyscraper but this proved unsuccessful, the substitute set providing improvements by being multi-dimensionally made of glass. The sequence in 'Skyfall' that "The Jellyfish" is seen is when James Bond (Daniel Craig) is on the track of an assassin on the way to a Shanghai office complex. In the earlier James Bond film L'homme au pistolet d'or (1974), a hall of mirrors was seen during the opening sequence and at the film's denouement.
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-A number of new books on James Bond were released in 2012, many around the time of early October 2012 a few weeks before 'Skyfall' was first released and around the time that the franchise celebrated its 50th Golden Anniversary on 5th October 2012. The books include "Bond on Bond" by Sir Roger Moore; "The James Bond Archives" by Paul Duncan; "Bond On Set: Filming Skyfall" by Greg Williams; "LIFE: 50 Years of James Bond" by the Editors of LIFE Books; "James Bond 50 Years of Movie Posters" by DK Publishing; "The Music of James Bond" by Jon Burlingame; "James Bond Unmasked" by Bill Desowitz; "All About Bond" by Terry O'Neill; "Amazing & Extraordinary Facts - James Bond" by Michael Paterson; ; "The World of James Bond: From Dr No to Skyfall" by Luke Quantrill; "Ken Adam Designs the Movies: James Bond and Beyond" by Christopher Frayling and Sir Ken Adam; and "The Many Lives and Deaths of James Bond: From Casino Royale to Skyfall" by Nader Elhefnawy; "James Bond: The Unofficial Reference to the Man, the Books, the Movies, and the Man Who Invented It All" by Jennifer Warner and LifeCaps; "How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle: The Complete Seminar" by Paul Kyriazi; the 2nd 2012 edition of "James Bond 007: The Definitive Guide" by Paul Fleming; the 2nd edition of "James Bond Drinks: The Complete Guide to the Drinks of James Bond" by David Leigh and "Essential James Bond Quotes" by William Rogers and "A Brief Guide to James Bond" by Nigel Cawthorne.
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-To prepare for the grueling physical demands of her action role as Eve, actress Naomie Harris was given a personal trainer and worked-out for around two months for two hours a day, five days a week. For this, Harris did yoga, kick-boxing, running and circuit training. Moreover, for one day of the week, Harris did combat fighting training; for one-two days of the week, Harris did stunt driving training and for three days a week, Harris fired guns on a shooting range learning to shoot machine guns and Walther PPKs.
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-When Bond and Q meet in the National Gallery in London, Q jokes about giving Bond an exploding pen when Bond moans about the tools received to fulfill the mission. Two previous film actually had Q giving Bond such a pen: Jamais plus jamais (1983) and GoldenEye (1995).
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-The role of Kincade played by Albert Finney was originally written with Sean Connery in mind. Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson originally wanted Connery to come out of retirement and make a surprise cameo. Director Sam Mendes told 'The Huffington Post', "There was a definite discussion about [Connery playing Kincade] - way, way early on. But I think that's problematic. Because, to me, it becomes too... it would take you out of the movie. Connery is Bond and he's not going to come back as another character. It's like, he's been there. So, it was a very brief flirtation with that thought, but it was never going to happen, because I thought it would distract." (Bien sûr!!!)
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-During this film's development and early stages of pre-production, 'Variety' columnist Liz Smith once wrote about 'Skyfall', then known as 'Bond 23', being filmed in New York using its Primola Restaurant as one of its locations. Published on Wednesday 10th September 2008, the piece read: "WHO WAS that blond stunner who froze forks mid-air at the posh Primola eatery in N.Y.? Oh yes indeed, it was Daniel Craig, 007 himself. The studly Daniel was accompanied by his producer Barbara Broccoli. (She is the daughter of Albert R. Broccoli aka "Cubby" who co-produced the James Bond films from James Bond 007 contre Dr. No (1962) until Permis de tuer (1989). Barbara took over and now has a "license to film.") Daniel and Barbara talked about the next Bond epic, part of which will be filmed - for the very first time! - in New York [sic, Vivre et laisser mourir (1973) was filmed in New York]. Primola itself will have a little cameo. Maybe Daniel just wanted to see if the restaurant could handle those shoulders of his." It turned out that New York apparently was never actually under consideration as a filming location for 'Skyfall'.
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-The painting that Q and Bond view at the National Gallery is "The Fighting Temeraire" (1839) by J.M.W Turner. The painting depicts H.M.S Temeraire, being a part of the British armada that participated in the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 decommissioned and towed from Sheerness to Rotherhithe to be broken up in 1838. Turner's main motive of painting that was to evoke a sense of loss rather than giving a recording of the event. In a metaphorical way, the painting's depiction provides a hint to the fate of one of the characters in the film. Other paintings and art-works seen include "Woman with a Fan (Luna Czechowska)" (1919) by Amedeo Modigliani and Joseph Wright of Derby's "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump" (1768).
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-The first time a character is audibly heard saying the "F word" in a Bond movie. In the 25th anniversary Bond film Tuer n'est pas jouer (1987)Bond clearly says "For f***'s sake!" but it cannot be heard due to plane engine noise. 'Skyfall' is the first Bond film to ever use an audible variation of the "F word", said by M at Skyfall Lodge.
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-James Bond actor Daniel Craig told 'Rolling Stone' magazine that he wanted 'Skyfall' to be his third and final Bond movie, saying, "I've been trying to get out of this from the very moment I got into it but they won't let me go". Craig has signed on for the next two James Bond films, both Bond 24 (2015) and Bond 25
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-Javier Bardem apparently was once offered a role in an earlier James Bond film prior to 'Skyfall', perhaps even the role of James Bond himself (though this is unlikely). Bardem told CinemaBlend, "Years ago, I was [offered Bond]. I don't remember what movie it was for. But yeah, it just was not that time. I didn't feel that it was the time for me to do something like that. And also, I was doing something else, so I passed. This time, when I read it, I felt that it was very powerful material, and I wanted to join [a Bond movie]."
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-The production shoot for this film went for 127 days whilst the movie features 172 scenes.
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-'Skyfall' is partly set in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish producer Ali Akdeniz who has worked on both Le monde ne suffit pas (1999) and 'Skyfall' says that the location of this part of the film was particularly chosen as a homage to the James Bond character's connections with Istanbul, once known as "The City of Spies". James Bond creator Ian Fleming once visited Istanbul in June 1955 for an Interpol Conference which he was covering on behalf of "The Sunday Times". The event provided both a setting and much background information for his Bond novel of Bons baisers de Russie(1963).For example,Fleming met Nazim Kalkavan, an Oxford educated man who inspired the Darko Kerim character. Moreover, whilst there, Fleming covered the "Istanbul Pogroms" aka "The Great Riot of Istanbul" which was published in "The Sunday Times" on 11th September 1955. When Fleming left the conference, he traveled by train, commenting that the experience was drab because there had been no dining car. Interestingly, both 'Skyfall' and Bons baisers de Russie (1963) involve trains, both the London subway tube and a Turkish train in Adana in 'Skyfall' and The Orient Express in Bons baisers de Russie (1963).
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-The type of lizards seen in the pit at the Golden Dragon floating casino are Komodo Dragons or Komodo Monitors, their species genus is "Varanus komodoensis", being part of the Varanidae monitor lizard species family. They are the both the largest species of reptillian dragons located in the Indonesian Islands and also the largest living species of lizard in the world, they can grow to a length of 10 ft (3 m) and weigh up to around 150 lb (70 kg). Track 13 of Thomas Newman's 'Skyfall' score soundtrack is called "Komodo Dragon". The name of the casino where the dragons are seen, "The Golden Dragon Casino", references the lizards which are housed in it.
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-The film features a recurring line of dialogue, "The old ways are usually the best". It occurs twice, said by both Eve and Kincade.
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-Reference to "Station H" in the film refers to MI6's Hong Kong office.
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-Daniel Craig was injured during the rehearsal period for this movie whereupon rescheduling took place requiring two weeks rest for his injuries. Craig was not injured during principal photography on 'Skyfall'. This is the second time in the franchise's history that a delay has been forced by an injury to the actor playing James Bond. The first was on Meurs un autre jour (2002) where Pierce Brosnan blew his knee out during filming of the opening hovercraft sequence, shutting down production for around 1-2 weeks.
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-The shoulder number on Silva's fake police uniform is 101, which is the non-emergency public contact telephone number for London's Metropolitan Police Force.
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-The wounded agent that James Bond tries to save in the opening sequence is named Ronson. This is also the name of a popular brand of cigarette lighter used by Bond in Ian Fleming's novels.