20 Things You Didn't Know About Die Another Day

8. Sounds Like A Brand Of Pork Pie!

Die Another Day
MGM/20th Century Fox

Like GoldenEye (1995), Die Another Day is a loose adaptation of Ian Fleming’s 1955 novel, Moonraker.

Like Sir Hugo Drax, Gustav Graves changes his appearance and develops a profitable business whilst posing as a great humanitarian to court British society and obtain a knighthood. His “Icarus Project” is meant to assist in growing crops year-round, bringing an end to starvation, but is actually a space weapon that harnesses the power of the Sun for military purposes.

Graves’s publicist, Olympic fencing champion, and MI6 double agent, Miranda Frost was originally named Gala Brand. Gala was a Special Branch agent posing as Drax’s private secretary who discovered that the Moonraker V-2 rocket was aimed at London. She also rebuffed Bond’s advances in favour of another man, whereas her movie counterpart allied herself with the villain. However, Rosamund Pike observed that Gala Brand sounded like a range of pork pies, so she was christened Miranda Frost instead.

Additionally, Moonraker features a game of bridge at Blades, an exclusive gentlemen’s club of which both M and Drax are members. In the film, Blades lives up to its name by hosting private fencing matches instead, leading to the intense sword fight between Bond and Graves.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.