| ||||
|
Arts & Entertainment Books Comics Health & Body Media Mothers Who Think News  PeoplePolitics2000 Technology - Free Software Project Travel & Food  Columnists - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Current Click here to read the latest stories from the wires. - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Also Today For a full list of today's Salon People stories, go to the
People home page. - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon - - - - - - - - - - - - Recently in Salon People Brilliant Careers Nothing Personal Nothing Personal People Feature Nothing Personal - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Desmond Llewelyn | page 1, 2
It became sort of a running joke: Whenever we left a restaurant,
he'd stuff a 10- or 12-page handwritten sequence into my
pocket, each one detailing a new, ever more elaborate exit for his
character. "Desmond," I would reply, "these are 45-minute sequences. I
know you're beloved, but --" "You've got to figure out a way to write me out," he'd laugh. "You
know, I'm not going to last forever." "Don't be silly," Barbara and Michael would respond. "You've got a
contract through 2015. We intend to hold you to it." But as we began this most recent film, "The World Is Not Enough," a
decision was made that Q, as well as Desmond, should have the option
of retiring gracefully. When I went back to my hotel room in London to write the scene, I
spent a fair amount of time thinking about who Q was. Why did he
touch a nerve with so many people? What archetype did Desmond
correspond to that resonated with so many different people all over
the world? This is what appears in the script, dated June 16, 1999: BOND
Q (ignoring this)
BOND
Q
When Desmond Llewelyn died in a car accident on Sunday, Dec. 19, the world lost an icon, and I lost a friend. Yet, as I sit here, writing this 24 hours later, I am left with two visions of Desmond. The first was six months ago, as we shot that last scene on Stage 3 at Pinewood studios. Looking around the room, I saw dozens of young English schoolboys staring -- eyes wide open, mouths agape, barely breathing -- as Q and Bond ran their lines. I realized that for those boys, as for me at that age, Santa may not have existed anymore, but Q still did. My second and last vision of Desmond took place barely a month ago, at the party following the premiere of "The World Is Not Enough" in Santa Monica, Calif. At 1 o'clock in the morning, in a room filled with movie stars,
beautiful women and handsome men, Desmond Llewelyn, 85 years
old, sat at a long banquet table, alone under a blue light, besieged
by young fans, merrily signing autographs into the night.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
