The World Is Not Enough- The Unofficial Site reports Exclusively from the Set!
On 6th April The World Is Not Enough- The Unofficial Site visited the Eon Productions film set at the Millennium Dome, in North Greenwich, London. The morning that we spent at the set was successful and thoroughly enjoyable but the weather on the day wasn't as good as had been hoped, which prevented the crew from filming key stunts that had been planned for the day. Fortunately, there were still plenty of other, less dramatic scenes that had to be done, so while we were there we witnessed scenes being shot with Maria Grazia Cuccinotta (The Cigar Girl) aboard the balloon. We watched two takes of 60 seconds each, in which the Cigar Girl is leaning out of the side of the basket, shooting down at Bond with a high-calibre silver gun, and also turning on the gas cylinder to get some more height out of the balloon. Vic Armstrong was there supervising the action, and we are told that the scenes shot at the Millennium Dome use the World's best stunt men and women, and the industry's most talented technicians are working around the clock to ensure that things run smoothly and the stunts look absolutely spectacular.
The Report
Approaching the Millennium Dome by road, one truly appreciates the sheer size of the structure. From miles away, it soars over the skyline, the big yellow steel supports rising 100 meters into the air, make it look even more impressive. Right next to the dome, it looms menacingly and is actually a very imposing structure.
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Rumours that Bond 19 was going to use the Millennium Dome as a location have been circulating for nearly a year, originally it was thought that Bond would face a race-against-time to disarm a bomb that was ticking down to oblivion inside the Dome, but this idea proved very unpopular, and over the course of the year, the actual role of the Dome in the film, specifically the Pre-Title Sequence, has slowly but surely resolved itself.
The Dome consists of an immense metal frame with a white cover stretched over the top of it. The cover reaches right down to the ground all the way around the perimeter of the Dome (which is fortunate for Bond, who slides down the side of it), and is anchored into the ground by huge steel holdfasts (left).
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Eon Production's outfit is situated right beside the Dome, between it and the Thames river. The section of the Dome they are occupying has already been completed, as the Dome needs to look as if it is finished in the actual film.
We began our tour by speaking to Sarah Donohue (left), and her friend Joe Mclaren, who work for the 2nd Unit stunt dept.
Sarah Donohue hosts a popular show on Sky called Performance Power. It features Sarah on location amongst the things she loves the most...powerboats.
Sarah is a professional powerboat pilot from Southampton, and is Europe's only female offshore racing driver. A member of Offshore 2000 Racing, based in Southampton, she was picked by Eon to double for Maria Grazia Cuccinotta (The Cigar Girl) in the chase scene because of her skill piloting boats such as the Sunseeker Hawk 34 in which the Cigar Girl makes her getaway. "I just got a phonecall from the studio one morning" explained Sarah, when asked how she landed the exciting job. "It's good fun but there's a lot of standing around in between takes, and the beer in London costs too much- £4 for a bottle of Becks!" she added. Her friend Joe, who appeared to spend all morning in a bright red stunt outfit, explained that she was involved with the aerial team, who supervised much of the balloon work. She told us that it sometimes could be very frustrating, as filming schedules can change at a moment's notice. Unfortunately once we got talking to her, she was called back to the set to prepare the balloon for shooting. She appeared to belong to a special stunt crew, and all the people doing similar jobs to her were wearing red overalls sponsored by Elessee.
Our next stop was the Q Boat, which was being resprayed by technicians when we were there. The technicians were spraying parts of the underside of the Q-Boat green, especially in the places where paint had been grazed off in previous filming sequences. We were told that several different versions of the Q-Boat have been constructed to be used in the film. The boat in the photo below isn't actually the real thing- it's one of the 2 mock-ups used for the stunt itself. It was explained that nothing actually worked inside the boat, and it was constructed from a special kind of resin. There was a small seat inside the boat, and a mysterious silver button on the side marked "access panel".
We were curious about two cylindrical metal structures which protruded from the back of the boat, and we asked one of the unit's art assistants (who had helped construct the boat) what they were intended to be. "Oh, those, they're rocket boosters", was the reply. We could hardly contain our excitement. "Bond uses them to get closer to the Cigar Girl's boat".
The next thing we heard was that the weather had improved sufficiently for certain scenes to be filmed. We rushed round to the other side of the set to see the crew preparing the (dummy) hot air balloon for a quick sequence. It was lifted up into the air by a crane, below, and then the basket was attached to it, in which Maria Grazia Cuccinotta would stand. The balloon used for this sequence was actually only half a balloon, as the crew only needed it for closeups.


After 10 minutes, the balloon was ready for shooting to commence. Special effects crew made sure that the gas canisters were working correctly and that everything was secure.
Maria Grazia Cuccinotta, who wore a tight, dark red leather outfit, played out two sequences where she fires shots from the balloon's basket. Vic Armstrong was right beside the balloon, behind a camera console and video screen, and it was thrilling to see the clapper board being used, and Vic shouting "Action!"
The filming finished without any major mishaps, and the excitement died down again. We continued to speak to other members of the crew, and we were told that the small lake (above) is actually used in the film, intended to be part of the "completed" dome.  There were a great deal of caravans and stunt trailers in the area, and we were particularly interested in the company Flying Pictures who had been drafted in by Eon to complete the balloon stunt.
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Above is a shot showing just how uncompleted the the dome actually is. In the areas off set, there were caterers, stunt men, technicians, directors, workmen, police and fire crew standing by to be called onto set or to assist the rest of the crew. 
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The Visiting Dignitaries
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For the remaining half an hour of our visit, we got chatting to three members of the stunt team who have very active roles in the early scenes we will see on November 26. A big marquee had been put up near the set, and tea, coffee and biscuits had been laid on for the 150 crew members, and a separate tent for the 50 or so extras. Whilst sitting chatting to the stunt team, three very well dressed gentlemen walked into the marquee and sat down. Naturally, we had to ask them what role they played in the film. "Oh, we're stunt men too", they replied. We wondered why they were so immaculately dressed if this was the case. "Ah, you see", they began, "We are playing visiting dignitaries who are present at the Dome when Bond's speedboat roars up out of the river. They weren't allowed to just use extras for the scene, as it's actually quite a dangerous stunt, so they asked us if we'd come to work this morning in our smartest." He added later, "I'm meant to be carrying a big black briefcase and smoking a pipe, and I have to drop them both in horror when I see Bond's Q Boat heading straight towards us. I suppose then we have to just run for it!"
Conclusion
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We chatted to the stunt crew about other films they had recently worked on, which included The Avengers and the upcoming Gladiator and heard many anecdotes about mishaps during filming. Eventually, they were called back on set for some stuntwork, and we decided to call it a day.
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The day ended at 1:30pm for us, and we thanked those who had shown us round. Before we left, we took photos of the massive 300 ft crane that Eon were using, and the adjacent Canary Wharf Tower - Britain's highest building - just across the river from the Dome- two structures which symbolize just how colossal the pre-title sequence of The World Is Not Enough actually is.
As the Production Manager explained: "This is a multi-million dollar production and all who are working here are the world's best professionals".
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