No time to cry.. even after being told I’ve to blow up 007’s Aston Martin
Special FX guru on getting a licence to thrill for latest project
Brian McIver Chris Corbould is the man who brings fireworks to James Bond movies.
The Oscar-winning special effects guru has blown up supercars, choreographed car chases and even dreamed up the show- stopping London Underground smash in Skyfall.
When it comes to giving away secrets from the new 007 movie, Chris, 61, is very much On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
But the one thing he is happy to reveal is that the iconic character’s Scottish background will most certainly have its place.
He said: “We shot No Time to Die in Aviemore. You won’t be disappointed and will recognise it instantly – it’s a big action sequence. I ’ ve just spent 18 months on the film and I can’t wait to see it.”
Chris says one of the toughest moments of his career came when Bond was holed up in a misty Glencoe estate in Skyfall and was forced to blow up his beloved Aston Martin DB5.
The key scene in the Sam Mendes- directed movie was the most emotional moment of the 15 Bond films Chris has worked on.
But all was not as it seemed. Chris, who is heading to Scotland to give a special talk about his movie exploits at next month’s Glasgow Film Festival, said: “We’ve got the classic DB5 back for No Time to Die and it’s great seeing the car back in all its glory in a real action role, rather than just looking pretty, so that was the highlight.
“There was a lot of talk about whether or not we should blow the DB5 up and a lot of heated discussions because a lot of people thought it was like another crew member and didn’t want to see it killed off.
“But I’ll let you in on a little secret – we didn’t actually blow a real DB5 up. There was a clever bit of editing cut together where
you see the car is there and, in the very frame we blew it up, we swapped it out.”
Chris has been involved in dozens of other blockbusters including Superman, Star Wars and Batman since he started in the FX business aged 17, working for his uncle as an apprentice on The Who classic Tommy.
His first Bond film was The Spy Who Loved Me, making Roger Moore’s ski stick pop- up rif le, and he worked his way up the ranks to become supervisor, taking charge of special effects.
He won an Oscar in 2011 for making dreams a reality with pal Christopher Nolan’s Inception, which is just one of the stories he’ll be sharing at his SFX With
Chris Corbould show at the Hilton Doubletree in Glasgow on February 29.
But it’s with Ian Fleming’s suave hero that Chris is most associated. When he and stunt supervisor Vic A rms t rong were detailing a car chase for 2002’s Die Another Day, they were instructed to do the chase – between Bond’s Aston Martin Vanquish and a Jaguar XKR – on an ice f ield. They realised they should get 4x4 editions but were quickly informed neither vehicle came in that specification.
So Chris and his team had to rebuild the cars. But that was nothing compared to his bright idea to drop a London Underground train on Bond.
He said: “Sam Mendes rang me and said he had this foot chase through the tunnels of London and he wanted one big jaw-dropping moment. I came up with two or three things and the Underground train crashing through the ceiling was one of them.
“A couple of weeks later, I sat down with my technical crew and they looked me in the eye and said, ‘ What were you thinking?’ I said, ‘What’s the problem? Let’s just buy a couple of carriages.’ And they told me each carriage was 800 tons.
“So we had to make them and rig up this great big monorail system going from one end of the Bond stage to the other. I like to chuck out challenges to my crew.”
Chris has a special affection for the current occupant of the tuxedo and was thrilled to get another gig with Daniel Craig after he seemed likely to quit after
Spectre. He added: “I love Bonds – they’re very close to my heart. Two of my favourites are GoldenEye and Casino Royale because they were the start of a new franchise with new Bonds.
“I’ve had a great relationship with Daniel since then – he makes me look good as he gets involved with the stuff we do.
“I was over the moon to see him back. The new film has the most powerful acting I ’ ve seen him do. I was stood there in awe some days.”
We’ve got the classic DB5 back for No Time to Die