BOND ON SET: 007 Filming Die Another Day

by Greg Williams

A pictorial look at the making of the James Bond film "Die Another Day."

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Greg Williams is an English photographer and film director known for his work in film and editorial photography. He began his career as a war photographer before transitioning to high-profile editorial assignments for publications such as Vogue Italia, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Esquire. He serves as the official photographer for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and has worked on set and poster campaigns for major films, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, The Bourne Ultimatum, Robin Hood, and King Kong. His portrait subjects have included Kate Beckinsale, Daniel Craig, Megan Fox, Robert Downey Jr., and Sean Penn, and his advertising work features campaigns for Omega Watches.
As a filmmaker, Williams directed the short film Sgt. Slaughter – My Big Brother (2011), starring Tom Hardy. He is also developing his feature directorial debut, Samarkand, co-written with his brother Olly Williams, which explores the struggles of a Special Air Service soldier dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder in civilian life.
Williams has authored several photography books, including the Bond On Set series, documenting the productions of Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall. A pioneer in digital photography, he was the first to use a Red One digital camera to shoot a magazine cover, featuring Megan Fox for Esquire. He also created 'Motos' (Moving Photos), blending video and photography for digital platforms, with notable projects including a Dunhill campaign starring Jude Law and the cover of Los Angeles Times Magazine's first iPad-compatible digital issue.
He married model Eliza Cummings in 2019.

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover makes Die Another Day look like a masterpiece of moody noir, which takes some doing given the actual tone of the film. Some nice glimpses behind the scenes and great photography, though I'd have liked more colour shots so I could get a better idea of sets and costumes.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the Bond series (this book relates to “Die Another Day”) and I love behind-the-scenes books about films, so this seemed right up my street and when I saw it for 50p, I snapped it up. Unfortunately, it’s not a good book, which is perhaps fitting for what is (in my opinion) one of the worst films in the series. The photographs themselves are good, but the layout is often poor (it’s a big book and two pages are taken up with two 6x4 shots) and although Williams appears to have had full access to the production, he only seems to have been around when the stars were - nothing on the visual effects, little on the miniatures, nothing on 2nd unit - and it’s just like a glossy article in a film magazine. Worse, what few words there are, appear to be puff pieces (Lee Tamahori, the director, saying that he’s ‘seeded’ in-jokes for the fans - they’re not seeded, mate, they’re almost flagged with neon signs) and the whole thing seems like it was flung together as a marketing opportunity. Poorly done - it gets the stars for the quality of the photographs.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photography. Much, much, much better than the movie.

[Elliot Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely candid images from the Bond movie, though this is just a picture book and nothing else. Don't expect a making of type book with any detail.

[Bart]

todo

[Matthew Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fantastic shots here, particularly of Brosnan mid-action. It's a high-quality film tie-in that's good for Bond collectors and behind-the-scenes film-enthusiasts.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I admit that there are not a lot of words in this book to read; it is essentially a collection of photographs taken on the set of Die Another Day. The photographs are a stunning supplement to the film that any Bond fan - or indeed, any fan of the cinema - would love.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in this terrific series of behind the scenes books, shame that the film didn't live up to the book. :-)