That's A WrapA (very) long road to semi-stardom - Musings of a Supporting Artiste

What's in a Name

Date: 29.04/2019  |  Posted by Phillip Tolley  | 

There has been a lot of speculation lately about the code name of the new James Bond Movie. Apart from Bond 25 there has been a lot written about the meaning of the title 'Shatterhand'

It has been confirmed that this is not the name of the film but may be a working title. Working titles are used when the final title has not been agreed or to disguise the name of the film. Around the county you will see orange signs attached to lamp posts or and traffic lights. These signs will often have LOC or BASE written on them plus the short name of the film. The LOC is the normally the filming location while BASE is where the wardrobe, hair and makup, supporting artists, catering and all the trucks and heavy equipment is based.

The last thing film makers want is the general public flocking to locations up and down the county in the hope of seeing their favourite actors. So they use working titles or acronyms - for instance VODD was used the the Vovage of Doctor Doolittle and TTOCK for the Trial of Christine Keeler. Other working titles are harder to decipher for instance the Hans Solo film was known as 'Red Cup' when it was being cast and Mission Impossible: Fallout was known in the trade as 'Gemini'.

Other film and TV titles change on release or depending on the county the film or TV series is aimed - The Bank Job (with Jason Stratham) was known as 'D Notice' while I was filming it and only changed it name prior to release. Likewise a NBC TV series called 'You, Me and the Apocalypse' was originally called 'Apocalypse Slough' (being a play on the film title Apocalypse Now). However I think the subtleness of the title was prossibly lost on the Americans.

So Shatterhand may have been a working title for Bond 25 but given the publicity it has received it is unlikely to remain so.