Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, with the screenplay written by Bruce Feirstein, the film follows Bond as he attempts to stop a power-mad media mogul from engineering world events to initiate World War III.

The film was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and was the first James Bond film made after the death of producer Albert R. Broccoli, to whom the movie pays tribute in the end credits. Filming locations included France, Thailand, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Tomorrow Never Dies performed well at the box office and earned a Golden Globe nomination despite mixed reviews. While its performance at the domestic box office surpassed that of its predecessor, GoldenEye, it was the only Pierce Brosnan Bond film not to open at number one at the box office, as it opened the same day as Titanic, but instead at number two.

Tomorrow Never Dies (song)

"Tomorrow Never Dies" is the song, performed by Sheryl Crow, which served as the theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer Mitchell Froom, and became her fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in 1997.

History

Another song, "Tomorrow Never Dies", written by the movie's composer David Arnold and performed by k.d. lang, was originally produced as the official theme tune. When Crow's song became the official theme the k.d. lang song was relegated to the end credits, and renamed "Surrender". The melody of "Surrender" still remains in Arnold's score.

In addition to k.d. lang's song, the James Bond producers solicited tracks from others including Pulp, The Cardigans and Swan Lee. These ultimately were rejected in favour of Sheryl Crow's version.

Reception

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly music critic Jim Farber negatively reviewed the song, explaining "While Crow's music has the right swank and swing, her brittle voice lacks the operatic quality of the best Bond girls and boys, like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, or even Melissa Manchester. Tomorrow Never Dies should be for her ears only." Farber called the choice of Crow "the worst hire since A-ha fronted one of these themes."Rolling Stone was also critical, and believed Lang's song to be superior. Writing for Filmtracks.com, Christian Clemmensen wished Lang's song had remained, and thought Crow's "beach-bum voice and lazy performance was a disgrace to the film."

Tomorrow Never Dies (soundtrack)

Tomorrow Never Dies is the soundtrack of the 18th James Bond film of the same name.

David Arnold composed the score of Tomorrow Never Dies, his first full Bond soundtrack. Arnold came to the producer's attention due to his successful cover interpretations in Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project—which featured major artists performing classic James Bond title songs.

The theme tune was chosen through a competitive process. There were approximately twelve submissions; including songs from Swan Lee, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Marc Almond, and Sheryl Crow.Crow's theme was eventually picked by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the meantime, a bold, brassy number in the classic John Barry/Shirley Bassey vein that Arnold himself wrote with David McAlmont and lyricist Don Black with the intent of being a theme, was relegated to the end credits with the title "Surrender". While McAlmont recorded the demo, "Surrender" was eventually recorded by k.d. lang after an extensive selective process.