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LICENCE TO KILL was the second Albert Broccoli-produced James Bond film, after MOONRAKER (1979), to stray from shooting at Pinewood Studios in England. After scouting locations in China, including film studios in Beijing and Shanghai, Broccoli decided to base the shoot in Mexico, for a savings of $5 million. In the film, a vengeful James Bond (Timothy Dalton) goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near-death.
John Glen directed his fifth consecutive James Bond film with LICENCE TO KILL. Rémy Julienne was the driving stunts arranger on his fifth Bond film. In the climactic chase sequence involving gasoline tankers, the producers used a section of a highway near Mexicali, Mexico, which had been closed for safety reasons. The sequence was shot in La Rumurosa, on a jagged stretch of road in Baja California, and required a second unit to be stationed there for six weeks. Only one week of filming involved first-unit cast and crew.
Sixteen eighteen-wheeler tankers were used, some with modifications made by Kenworth at the request of Rémy Julienne. Most were given improvements to their engines to run faster, while one model had an extra steering wheel on the back of the cabin, so a hidden stuntman could drive, while Carey Lowell was in the front, and another received extra suspension on its back, so it could lift its front wheels. Three identical trucks were modified to perform a specific stunt each. The crew dubbed them Pamela 1, 2 and 2, after Carey Lowell's character “Pam Bouvier.” Although a rig was constructed to help one truck tilt onto its side, it was not necessary, as Julienne was able to pull off the stunt without the aid of camera trickery. Ten Kenworth trucks costing $100,000 each were destroyed during filming.
Producer Michael G. Wilson would not reveal marketing costs, but lamented that the promotional budget nearly equaled the $34.5 million production budget. The cumulative worldwide box-office amounted to $156.7 million, which fell short of the $191.2 million worldwide gross for the previous Bond film, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. Michael Kamen’s score was released by MCA Records.
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Hong Kong filmmaking came to France with director John Woo’s ONCE A THIEF. Under the brutal tutelage of Hong Kong crime lord “Chow” (Kenneth Tsang), street orphans “Joe” (Chow Yun-fat), “Jim” (Leslie Cheung), and” Cherie” (Cherie Chung) have grown up to be daring art thieves, despite the best efforts of kindly police officer “Chu” (Chu Kong) to keep them on the straight and narrow. Cherie wants to marry Joe and settle down, but Jim and Joe's 'one last job' on the French Riviera goes wrong, and Joe is apparently killed in an explosion as he saves Jim's life. Years later, a wheelchair-bound Joe returns to Hong Kong, determined both to forge a new relationship with Jim and Cherie, who are now married, and to take vengeance on Chow for using and betraying them.
Rémy Julienne did the car stunts in France for the 1991 film. Violet Lam (AKA Man-Yee Lam) provided the film’s score. It’s unclear as to whether the film had a U.S. theatrical release, but it was a smash hit in Hong Kong, grossing HK$33,397,149.
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Posted: |
Dec 4, 2021 - 11:11 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In OPERATION CONDOR (AKA: “Armour of God II: Operation Condor”), “Jackie” [AKA “Condor”] (Jackie Chan) is contacted by “Baron Bannon” (Bozidar Smijanic) to locate gold lost during World War II. He finds himself teamed with “Elsa” (Eva Cobo de Garcia), the granddaughter of one of the soldiers, and an expert on Africa named “Ada” (Carol Cheng) in an adventure to locate the gold in Africa. Unfortunately, Jackie, Ada, and Elsa aren’t the only ones in the search of the treasure, and the race is on!
Jackie Chan directed and co-wrote this 1991 action film. Rémy Julienne was one of the stunt coordinators on the film, along with Bruce Law, and, of course, Chan himself.
The film was produced as the sequel to Chan’s ARMOUR OF GOD (1986) under the title ARMOUR OF GOD 2: OPERATION CONDOR. Originally released in 1991, it was made available in the U.S. only on video under the title "Armour of God 2". After Chan became popular in the U.S. from the theatrical hit RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1996 U.S. release) ARMOUR OF GOD 2 was released theatrically in the U.S. in 1997 in a newly-dubbed version as OPERATION CONDOR by Dimension Films. The original ARMOUR OF GOD was released on video in the U.S. in 1999, and was given the confusing name "Operation Condor 2,” making it seem as if it was the sequel, rather than the original.
The U.S. theatrical release of OPERATION CONDOR has a new music score composed by Stephen Endelman and is cut by 20+ min. from the original Hong Kong version. The film cost $15 million to produce, making it the most expensive Hong Kong film up to that time. It grossed $10.4 million during its U.S. release.
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Pierce Brosnan assumed the role of James Bond for 1995’s GOLDENEYE. Because the film franchise was caught up in litigation, the six-year hiatus between the release of LICENCE TO KILL (1989) and this movie is the longest gap between Bond movies since the franchise first started in 1962.
In the film, years after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space-based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. Bond sets out to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon. Several changes had to be made to the script during production, because the plot was virtually identical to TRUE LIES which was being released at the time of filming.
Martin Campbell directed the film. Rémy Julienne was in charge of staging the car chase stunts. It was his sixth and last Bond film, and the only one for a director other than John Glen. In the opening car chase between Bond's Aston Martin and Onatopp's Ferrari F355, Famke Janssen performed some of her own driving stunts. She confirmed this in an interview with Jay Leno in 1995. Nails had to be attached to the tires of the Ferrari for the skid in the chase. The Ferrari was rented and, after colliding with 007's car, had to be repaired overnight, at a cost of $80,000.
The world premiere of the film was held on November 13, 1995 at New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall. This was the first premiere for any James Bond movie to be held in New York City, and the second in the U.S. for an Eon Bond movie after A VIEW TO A KILL (1985), and third overall for any Bond movie after that film and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983).
Eric Serra’s score (with a cue by John Altman for the tank chase) was released by EMI Capitol. GOLDENEYE had a worldwide gross of $352 million, more than double the previous film, LICENCE TO KILL. GOLDENEYE was the final James Bond movie viewed by Albert R. Broccoli. The producer died on 27 June 1996 at the age of 87.
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SURVIVING PICASSO tells the story of Françoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone), the only lover of Pablo Picasso (Anthony Hopkins) who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty, and move on with her life. James Ivory directed the 1996 film. Rémy Julienne and Stuart St. Paul were the stunt coordinators. Richard Robbins’ score was released by Epic Records. The $16 million production was a bust at the U.S. box office, with a $2 million gross.
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Posted: |
Dec 5, 2021 - 11:17 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Rémy Julienne was the stunt coordinator for the 1996 Jean-Claude Van Damme action film MAXIMUM RISK. In the film, a policeman, "Alain Moreau" (Van Damme), finds out from his mother, "Chantal Moreau" (Stéphane Audran), that he had a twin brother who was killed in a violent altercation. He takes his twin brother's place, inheriting his problems and his girlfriend (Natasha Hemstridge), determined to expose corruption and collusion between the FBI and the Russian mafia.
Ringo Lam directed the film. Robert Folk's score was released by Varese Sarabande. The $25 million production was a box-office disappointment in the U.S., grossing just $14.5 million. But it performed well in Europe, grossing almost $37 million.
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Posted: |
Dec 5, 2021 - 10:52 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Rémy Julienne performed stunts on Jean-Claude Van Damme’s next film, DOUBLE TEAM. In the film, counter-terrorist “Jack Quinn” (Van Damme) misses his target, “Stavros” (Mickey Rourke), on the eve of his final mission. From there, Quinn is sent to “The Colony”, a rebirth for presumed-dead assassins. He breaks free from there, and seeks the aid of “Yaz” (Dennis Rodman), a weapons dealer, for his final battle with Stavros.
Hark Tsui directed the 1997 release. Gary Chang’s score has not had a release. The $30 million film grossed just $11.4 million in the U.S. and finished with a total world wide gross of $36.7 million.
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Director Gérard Krawczyk’s 2000 French action crime comedy sequel TAXI 2 was a sequel to 1998’s TAXI. In the film, the Japanese secretary of state (Hirata Haruhiko) is visiting Marseilles on a mission to invest in France’s anti-terrorism expertise, expected to sign a multi-billion-dollar contract with the French government. But he is kidnapped by a Japanese gang of Yakuza.
Cabbie “Daniel” (Sami Naceri) and his pal, the cop “Emilien” (Frédéric Diefenthal), get involved in an adventure to rescue the diplomat and ensure that the deal is signed. Emilien also has to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend, officer “Petra” (Emma Wiklund). Rémy Julienne was the stunt driving coordinator on the film.
During filming on August 17, 1999, cameraman Alain Dutartre was killed when a car driven by a stuntman overshot a jump over tanks and struck him, also injuring Jean-Michel Bar, the cameraman's assistant. Clearing Besson's firm EuropaCorp of all charges, the Prosecutor held Rémy Julienne solely responsible, accusing him of "not taking all the necessary measures for the security of the stunt in question" and notably to have "neglected the speed calculations of the car and the length of the jump," handing Julienne an 18-month suspended jail sentence and a €13,000 fine.
Julienne appealed, accusing Besson's production company EuropaCorp of taking short cuts in safety equipment, and rejecting Julienne's offers to trial the car scene in question, due to cost. The Paris Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in June 2009, and ordered EuropaCorp pay €100,000. Julienne's suspended jail sentence was reduced to six months, and his fine reduced to €2,000, but he was required to pay the Dutartre family €50,000 in court costs.
None of Al Khemya’s score for the film appeared on the song-track CD released by Delabel Records. The film got a fitful U.S. release during which it earned $626,000. But otherwise, the $10 million production was a big hit, grossing $60 million worldwide.
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Posted: |
Dec 8, 2021 - 12:58 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Rémy Julienne’s final feature film work came on the aptly named GETAWAY. In the film, Ethan Hawke plays the improbably-named “Brent Magna,” a disgraced former race car driver. His wife has been kidnapped, and he's been provided a with stolen Shelby Super Snake rigged with cameras and other devices. A voice on the car's Bluetooth system issues commands he must carry out if he wants to see his wife alive again. Along the way he crosses paths with the car’s owner (Selena Gomez), who just happens to be a computer whiz who helps Brent find out who is behind his troubles.
This set up allowed Julienne to perform in an endless series of car crashes on the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria, although Ethan Hawke did some of his own stunt driving. There is no CGI in any of the car crash scenes. All the crashes in the movie are real. Some of the stuntmen were driving up to 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) per hour when they crashed, but remarkably, no one was hurt. One hundred thirty cars were wrecked in the making of this movie. The production had its own junkyard on-set to store the wreckage.
The Shelby Super Snake Mustang is such a rare car, that Shelby had to make seven cars especially for this production. Many were wrecked multiple times, and parts of some would be added to others to create a new car. In all, thirteen versions of the Shelby were wrecked in the making of this film.
Courtney Solomon directed this 2013 thriller. Justin Burnett’s score was released by Varese Sarabande. The film was produced for a relatively thrifty $18 million, but still grossed under $12 million worldwide.
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