"Silver and Gold" was written in support of the Artists United Against Apartheid project, which protested the South African apartheid. In 1985, Bono participated in Steven Van Zandt's anti-apartheid Sun City project and spent time with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. When Richards and Jagger played blues, Bono was embarrassed by his lack of familiarity with the genre, as most of U2's musical knowledge began with punk rock in their youth in the mid-1970s. Bono realised that U2 "had no tradition", and he felt as if they "were from outer space". This inspired him to write the blues-influenced song "Silver and Gold", which he recorded with Richards and Ronnie Wood. It was re-recorded by U2 for the "Where the Streets Have No Name" single while the band returned to Dublin during in May 1987 during a break between the first and second legs of The Joshua Tree Tour. The song was described by Musician as "tough and raw, with Bono in husky and confident voice, underpinned by a sinuous bass line, and with The Edge demonstrating his newfound prowess in blues-based guitar." "Silver and Gold" was played live on The Joshua Tree Tour several times, one performance of which was featured on the band's 1988 album and rockumentary, Rattle and Hum. Both the studio recording and the Sun City versions were later featured on the bonus disc of the 20th anniversary edition of The Joshua Tree. The studio version was also included on the limited edition B-sides bonus disk of the band's first compilation album, The Best of 1980 – 1990.


"Sweetest Thing" was written by Bono as an apology to his wife for forgetting her birthday. The song opens with a short piano piece before the rest of the band begins to play. Some of Bono's lyrics have been described as reminiscent of John Lennon. The Edge described it as "a beautiful song ... which is pop as it should be — not produced out of existence, but pop produced with a real intimacy and purity", also noting that "It's very new for us." It was re-recorded with some lyrical alterations and released in 1998 as a single in its own right for The Best of 1980 – 1990. Hot Press editor Niall Stokes stated that this track, along with "Race Against Time", is "an indicator of what U2 might have made instead of The Joshua Tree."


== Critical reception ==


Upon the release of The Joshua Tree, critics praised "Where the Streets Have No Name". Steve Morse of The Boston Globe noted the "bell-like tones from the Edge fram [e] a search for heaven" and along with the subsequent track on the album, "I Still Haven 't Found What I'm Looking For", these songs showed how the group were "pilgrims still on a quest; not preachers who claim to have found answers". The Bergen Record echoed these sentiments, saying the tracks demonstrated how the band was on a personal and spiritual quest. Rolling Stone called it "assertive rock" in their review of The Joshua Tree. The San Diego Union-Tribune said of "Where the Streets Have No Name", "the music charges, like someone fleeing for life". The Washington Post said the track is "a bit oblique lyrically, but the implications are clear in Bono's resolute delivery, Dave (the Edge) Evan's quavering guitar, Adam Clayton's cathedral bass and Larry Mullen's rolling thunder drums".


NME lauded the song as the opening track by saying the album "starts by spitting furiously". The publication praised Bono's impassioned singing and The Edge's guitar playing, which transformed the instrument into "something more than an endlessly abused piece of wood". The review commented that the "last ten seconds are breathtakingly beautiful". The Rocket wrote that the song builds a "wall of sound" that Bono's vocals cut through with a "wail of desperation, as the lyrics agonize the need for personal spirituality". The reviewer compared the opening riff to Simple Minds' "Ghostdancing". Reviewing The Joshua Tree, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the song an "epic opener". The service's Steve Huey, in a review of the song, praised its "insistent, propulsive rhythmic drive and anthemic chorus", qualities he singled out for making it a fan favorite. He called the song the "perfect album-opener", crediting the "slow build of its arrangement toward a climactic peak". Huey also called Bono's delivery "passionate and grandiose" and "his commitment to the material unshakable". He believed the combination of his vocals and the band's "sonic power" is what gave U2 its "tremendous force".


== Live performances ==


"Where the Streets Have No Name" made its concert debut on 2 April 1987 in Tempe, Arizona on the opening night of The Joshua Tree Tour. It has since been played at nearly every full-length concert that U2 has headlined, totaling over 700 performances as of 2011. The song is widely regarded as one of the group's most popular live songs. Bono said of it, "We can be in the middle of the worst gig in our lives, but when we go into that song, everything changes. The audience is on its feet, singing along with every word. It's like God suddenly walks through the room."


On The Joshua Tree Tour, "Where the Streets Have No Name" was most often used to open concerts. Fans and critics responded favourably to the song in a live setting. The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that, "From the lofty sonic opening strains of [the song], this audience was up, ecstatic and inflamed." NME wrote that the song is one such occasion where "the power afforded their songs is scary", noting that during the song's opening, "the arena ERUPTS". In other reviews, the song was called: "uplifting", "exhilarating", and "powerful". Out of the 109 shows during The Joshua Tree Tour, "Streets" was played at all except 12 of the concerts. During the Lovetown Tour which took place in 1989 and the beginning of 1990, "Streets" was only left out of the set list at one of the 47 concerts.


The song was performed at every show on the 1992 – 1993 Zoo TV Tour. Concerts from this tour were elaborate multimedia spectacles that Bono performed as a variety of characters, but for the end of the main set, the group reverted to playing classics, including "Where the Streets Have No Name", straight. Some of these performances of the song were accompanied by footage of the group in the desert from The Joshua Tree's photo shoot. The video was speeded up for humorous effect — NME described the effect as giving it a "silly, Charlie Chaplin quality" — and Bono often acknowledged his younger self on the video screens. This video would make a return during performances on the 2010 and 2011 legs of the U2 360°Tour. Some of the Zoo TV performances of the song had a more electronic dance music arrangement that bore a resemblance to the Pet Shop Boys' synthpop cover of the song (titled "Where the Streets Have No Name ( I Can 't Take My Eyes off You)" ). Bono parodied this by occasionally adopting the deadpan vocal style used in the Pet Shop Boys' cover. Critics welcomed the song in the group's setlist: The Independent said the song "induces instant euphoria, as U2 do what they're best at, slipping into epic rock mode, playing music made for the arena". In two other local newspaper reviews, critics praised the song's inclusion in a sequence of greatest hits.


For the PopMart Tour of 1997 – 1998, U2 returned to the electronic dance arrangement they occasionally played on the Zoo TV Tour. The set's massive video screen displayed a video that Hot Press described as an "astonishing, 2001-style trip into the heart of a swirling, psychedelic tunnel that sucks the audience in towards a horizontal monolith". Near the end of the song, peace doves were shown on the screen and bright beams of light flanking the set's golden arch were projected upwards. Hot Press said the effect transformed the stadium into a "UFO landing site".


Shortly before the third leg of the Elevation Tour, the September 11 attacks occurred in New York City and Washington D.C. During the band's first show in New York City following the attacks, the band performed "Where the Streets Have No Name", and when the stage lights illuminated the audience, the band saw tears streaming down the faces of many fans. The experience was one inspiration for the song "City of Blinding Lights". The band paid tribute to the 9 / 11 victims during their performance of the song at the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show on 3 February 2002. The performance featured the names of the September 11 victims projected onto a large white banner behind the band. U2's appearance was later ranked number 1 on Sports Illustrated's list of "Top 10 Super Bowl Halftime Shows".


For the Vertigo Tour, the group originally considered dropping the song from their setlists, but Mullen and Clayton successfully argued against this. All 131 of the Vertigo Tour concerts featured a performance of the song, which were accompanied by the stage's LED video curtains displaying African flags. On the tour's opening night, this reminded Bono that he had originally written the lyrics in an Ethiopian village. He thought this visual accompaniment made the song come full circle, saying, "And here it was, nearly twenty years later, coming back to Africa, all the stuff about parched lands and deserts making sense for the first time." The song was also played at the preview screening of the band's concert film U2 3D at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. At the Glastonbury Festival 2010, The Edge accompanied rock band Muse for a live cover version of the track, later playing it with U2 while headlining Glastonbury in 2011.


Live performances of "Where the Streets Have No Name" appear in the concert video releases Rattle and Hum, Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, and PopMart: Live from Mexico City, as well as the respective audio releases of the latter two concerts, Zoo TV Live and Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live from Mexico City. A second version from the PopMart Tour was featured on Please: PopHeart Live EP, and later on the U.S. "Please" single. A live recording from Boston during the Elevation Tour was featured in the concert film Elevation 2001: Live from Boston, and on the "Walk On" and "Electrical Storm" singles. The concert video and album U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland featured another performance from the Elevation Tour, and later performances were featured in the concert films Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago and U2 3D (Vertigo Tour), and U2 360°at the Rose Bowl (U2 360°Tour). The 2004 digital album, Live from the Point Depot, contains a performance from the Lovetown Tour, only available as part of The Complete U2 digital box set.


== Legacy ==


In 2002, Q magazine named "Where the Streets Have No Name" the 16th- "most exciting tune ever". The following year, Q ranked the song at number 459 in a special edition titled "1001 Best Songs Ever". Three years later, the magazine's readers voted the track the 43rd-greatest song in history. Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 28 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time." In a 2010 poll by fan site @ U2, approximately 29 % of 4,800 respondents named "Where the Streets Have No Name" as their favourite song from The Joshua Tree, ranking it as the most popular song from the album. In 2010, American sports network ESPN used the track, among other U2 songs, in commercials for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the South African Soweto Gospel Choir adding vocals to the song. The advertisement, titled "Robben Island", portrays South African political prisoners during the apartheid era forming a soccer team. There are plans to bring a recording of the Soweto-supported performance to retail. Composer John Mackey used the introductory guitar theme in his 2009 piece for wind ensemble, Aurora Awakes. The song's introduction was used by the Vancouver Canucks hockey team at the start each of their home games, when the players take to the ice. The Baltimore Ravens also use the song as they enter M & T Bank Stadium before home games. The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team uses this song in their entrance video before all home games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The song is also used by the Wisconsin Badgers football team for their entrance video at Camp Randall Stadium prior to all home games. The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team uses the song during their starting lineups at Allen Fieldhouse.


== Track listing ==


== Personnel ==


== Charts ==


= Nazarov cyclization reaction =


The Nazarov cyclization reaction (often referred to as simply the Nazarov cyclization) is a chemical reaction used in organic chemistry for the synthesis of cyclopentenones. The reaction is typically divided into classical and modern variants, depending on the reagents and substrates employed. It was originally discovered by Ivan Nikolaevich Nazarov (1906 – 1957) in 1941 while studying the rearrangements of allyl vinyl ketones.


As originally described, the Nazarov cyclization involves the activation of a divinyl ketone using a stoichiometric Lewis acid or protic acid promoter. The key step of the reaction mechanism involves a cationic 4π-electrocyclic ring closure which forms the cyclopentenone product (See Mechanism below). As the reaction has been developed, variants involving substrates other than divinyl ketones and promoters other than Lewis acids have been subsumed under the name Nazarov cyclization provided that they follow a similar mechanistic pathway.


The success of the Nazarov cyclization as a tool in organic synthesis stems from the utility and ubiquity of cyclopentenones as both motifs in natural products (including jasmone, the aflatoxins, and a subclass of prostaglandins) and as useful synthetic intermediates for total synthesis. The reaction has been used in several total syntheses and several reviews have been published.


== Mechanism ==


The mechanism of the classical Nazarov cyclization reaction was first demonstrated experimentally by Shoppe to be an intramolecular electrocyclization and is outlined below. Activation of the ketone by the acid catalyst generates a pentadienyl cation which undergoes a thermally allowed 4π conrotatory electrocyclization as dictated by the Woodward-Hoffman rules. This generates an oxyallyl cation which undergoes an elimination reaction to lose a β-hydrogen. Subsequent tautomerization of the enolate produces the cyclopentenone product.


As noted above, variants that deviate from this template are known; what designates a Nazarov cyclization in particular is the generation of the pentadienyl cation followed by electrocyclic ring closure to an oxyallyl cation. In order to achieve this transformation, the molecule must be in the s-trans / s-trans conformation, placing the vinyl groups in an appropriate orientation. The propensity of the system to enter this conformation dramatically influences reaction rate, with α-substituted substrates having an increased population of the requisite conformer due to allylic strain. Coordination of an electron donating α-substituent by the catalyst can likewise increase the reaction rate by enforcing this conformation.


Similarly, β-substitution directed inward restricts the s-trans conformation so severely that E-Z isomerization has been shown to occur in advance of cyclization on a wide range of substrates, yielding the trans cyclopentenone regardless of initial configuration. In this way, the Nazarov cyclization is a rare example of a stereoselective pericyclic reaction, whereas most electrocyclizations are stereospecific. The example below uses triethylsilyl hydride to trap the oxyallyl cation so that no elimination occurs. (See Interrupted cyclizations below)


Along this same vein, allenyl vinyl ketones of the type studied extensively by Marcus Tius of the University of Hawaii show dramatic rate acceleration due to the removal of β-hydrogens, obviating a large amount of steric strain in the s-cis conformer.


== Classical Nazarov cyclizations ==


Though cyclizations following the general template above had been observed prior to Nazarov's involvement, it was his study of the rearrangements of allyl vinyl ketones that marked the first major examination of this process. Nazarov correctly reasoned that the allylic olefin isomerized in situ to form a divinyl ketone before ring closure to the cyclopentenone product. The reaction shown below involves an alkyne oxymercuration reaction to generate the requisite ketone.


Research involving the reaction was relatively quiet in subsequent years, until in the mid-1980s when several syntheses employing the Nazarov cyclization were published. Shown below are key steps in the syntheses of Trichodiene and Nor-Sterepolide, the latter of which is thought to proceed via an unusual alkyne-allene isomerization that generates the divinyl ketone.


=== Shortcomings ===


The classical version of the Nazarov cyclization suffers from several drawbacks which modern variants attempt to circumvent. The first two are not evident from the mechanism alone, but are indicative of the barriers to cyclization; the last three stem from selectivity issues relating to elimination and protonation of the intermediate.


Strong Lewis or protic acids are typically required for the reaction (e.g. TiCl4, BF3, MeSO3H). These promoters are not compatible with sensitive functional groups, limiting the substrate scope.


Despite the mechanistic possibility for catalysis, multiple equivalents of the promoter are often required in order to effect the reaction. This limits the atom economy of the reaction.


The elimination step is not regioselective; if multiple β-hydrogens are available for elimination, various products are often observed as mixtures. This is highly undesirable from an efficiency standpoint as arduous separation is typically required.


Elimination destroys a potential stereocenter, decreasing the potential usefulness of the reaction.


Protonation of the enolate is sometimes not stereoselective, meaning that products can be formed as mixtures of epimers.


== Modern variants ==


The shortcomings noted above limit the usefulness of the Nazarov cyclization reaction in its canonical form. However, modifications to the reaction focused on remedying its issues continue to be an active area of academic research. In particular, the research has focused on a few key areas: rendering the reaction catalytic in the promoter, effecting the reaction with more mild promoters to improve functional group tolerance, directing the regioselectivity of the elimination step, and improving the overall stereoselectivity. These have been successful to varying degrees.


Additionally, modifications focused on altering the progress of the reaction, either by generating the pentadienyl cation in an unorthodox fashion or by having the oxyallyl cation "intercepted" in various ways. Furthermore, enantioselective variants of various kinds have been developed. The sheer volume of literature on the subject prevents a comprehensive examination of this field; key examples are given below.


=== Silicon-directed cyclization ===


The earliest efforts to improve the selectivity of the Nazarov cyclization took advantage of the β-silicon effect in order to direct the regioselectivity of the elimination step. This chemistry was developed most extensively by Professor Scott Denmark of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the mid-1980s and utilizes stoichiometric amounts of iron trichloride to promote the reaction. With bicyclic products, the cis isomer was selected for to varying degrees.


The silicon-directed Nazarov cyclization reaction was subsequently employed in the synthesis of the natural product Silphinene, shown below. The cyclization takes place before elimination of the benzyl alcohol moiety, so that the resulting stereochemistry of the newly formed ring arises from approach of the silyl alkene anti to the ether.


=== Polarization ===


Drawing on the substituent effects compiled over various trials of the reaction, Professor Alison Frontier of the University of Rochester developed a paradigm for "polarized" Nazarov cyclizations in which electron donating and electron withdrawing groups are used to improve the overall selectivity of the reaction. Creation of an effective vinyl nucleophile and vinyl electrophile in the substrate allows catalytic activation with copper triflate and regioselective elimination. In addition, the electron withdrawing group increases the acidity of the α-proton, allowing selective formation of the trans-α-epimer via equilibration.


It is often possible to achieve catalytic activation using a donating or withdrawing group alone, although the efficiency of the reaction (yield, reaction time, etc.) is typically lower.


=== Alternative cation generation ===


By extension, any pentadienyl cation regardless of its origin is capable of undergoing a Nazarov cyclization. There have been a large number of examples published where the requisite cation is arrived at by a variety of rearrangements. One such example involves the silver catalyzed cationic ring opening of allylic dichloro cylopropanes. The silver salt facilitates loss of chloride via precipitation of insoluble silver chloride.


In the total synthesis of rocaglamide, epoxidation of a vinyl alkoxyallenyl stannane likewise generates a pentadienyl cation via ring opening of the resultant epoxide.


=== Interrupted cyclization ===


Once the cyclization has occurred, an oxyallyl cation is formed. As discussed extensively above, the typical course for this intermediate is elimination followed by enolate tautomerization. However, these two steps can be interrupted by various nucleophiles and electrophiles, respectively. Oxyallyl cation trapping has been developed extensively by Fredrick G. West of the University of Alberta and his review covers the field. The oxyallyl cation can be trapped with heteroatom and carbon nucleophiles and can also undergo cationic cycloadditions with various tethered partners. Shown below is a cascade reaction in which successive cation trapping generates a pentacyclic core in one step with complete diastereoselectivity.


Enolate trapping with various electrophiles is decidedly less common. In one study, the Nazarov cyclization is paired with a Michael reaction using an iridium catalyst to initiate nucleophilic conjugate addition of the enolate to β-nitrostyrene. In this tandem reaction the iridium catalyst is required for both conversions: it acts as the Lewis acid in the Nazarov cyclization and in the next step the nitro group of nitrostyrene first coordinates to iridium in a ligand exchange with the carbonyl ester oxygen atom before the actual Michael addition takes place to the opposite face of the R-group.


=== Enantioselective variants ===


The development of an enantioselective Nazarov cyclization is a desirable addition to the repertoire of Nazarov cyclization reactions. To that end, several variations have been developed utilizing chiral auxiliaries and chiral catalysts. Diastereoselective cyclizations are also known, in which extant stereocenters direct the cyclization. Almost all of the attempts are based on the idea of torquoselectivity; selecting one direction for the vinyl groups to "rotate" in turn sets the stereochemistry as shown below.


Silicon-directed Nazarov cyclizations can exhibit induced diastereoselectivity in this way. In the example below, the silyl-group acts to direct the cyclization by preventing the distant alkene from rotating "towards" it via unfavorable steric interaction. In this way the silicon acts as a traceless auxiliary. (The starting material is not enantiopure but the retention of enantiomeric excess suggests that the auxiliary directs the cyclization.)


Tius's allenyl substrates can exhibit axial to tetrahedral chirality transfer if enantiopure allenes are used. The example below generates a chiral diosphenpol in 64 % yield and 95 % enantiomeric excess.


Tius has additionally developed a camphor-based auxiliary for achiral allenes that was employed in the first asymmetric synthesis of roseophilin. The key step employs an unusual mixture of hexafluoro-2-propanol and trifluoroethanol as solvent.


The first chiral Lewis acid promoted asymmetric Nazarov cyclization was reported by Varinder Aggarwal and utilized copper (II) bisoxazoline ligand complexes with up to 98 % ee. The enantiomeric excess was unaffected by use of 50 mol % of the copper complex but the yield was significantly decreased.


== Related Reactions ==


Extensions of the Nazarov cyclization are generally also subsumed under the same name. For example, an α-β, γ-δ unsaturated ketone can undergo a similar cationic conrotatory cyclization that is typically referred to as an iso-Nazarov cyclization reaction. Other such extensions have been given similar names, including homo-Nazarov cyclizations and vinylogous Nazarov cyclizations.


=== Retro-Nazarov reaction ===


Because they overstabilize the pentadienyl cation, β-electron donating substiuents often severely impede Nazarov cyclization. Building from this, several electrocyclic ring openings of β-alkoxy cyclopentanes have been reported. These are typically referred to as retro-Nazarov cyclization reactions.


=== Imino-Nazarov reaction ===


Nitrogen analogues of the Nazarov cyclization reaction (known as imino-Nazarov cyclization reactions) have few instances; there is one example of a generalized imino-Nazarov cyclization reported (shown below), and several iso-imino-Nazarov reactions in the literature. Even these tend to suffer from poor stereoselectivity, poor yields, or narrow scope. The difficulty stems from the relative over-stabilization of the pentadienyl cation by electron donation, impeding cyclization.


= Horrible Bosses =


Horrible Bosses is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx. The plot follows three friends, played by Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses, portrayed by Spacey, Aniston and Farrell.


Markowitz's script was bought by New Line Cinema in 2005 and the film spent six years in various states of pre-production, with a variety of actors attached to different roles. By 2010, Goldstein and Daley had rewritten the script, and the film finally went into production.


The film premiered in Los Angeles on June 30, 2011, and received a wide release on July 8, 2011. The film exceeded financial expectations, accruing over $ 28 million in the first three days, making it the number two film in the United States during its opening weekend, and going on to become the highest-grossing black comedy film of all time in unadjusted dollars, breaking the record previously set by The War of the Roses in 1990. The film grossed over $ 209 million worldwide during its theatrical run.


The film opened to positive critical reception, with several critics praising the ensemble cast, with each lead being singled out for their performances across reviews. The plot received a more mixed response; some reviewers felt that its dark, humorous premise was explored well, while others felt the jokes were racist, homophobic, and misogynistic. A sequel, Horrible Bosses 2, was released on November 26, 2014.


== Plot ==


Nick Hendricks (Bateman) and Dale Arbus (Day) are friends who despise their bosses. Nick works at a financial firm for the sadistic David Harken (Spacey), who implies the possibility of a promotion for Nick for months, only to award it to himself. Dale is a dental assistant being sexually harassed by his boss, Dr. Julia Harris (Aniston); she threatens to tell his fiancee Stacy (Lindsay Sloane) that he had sex with her unless he actually has sex with her. Nick and Dale's accountant friend Kurt Buckman (Sudeikis) enjoys working for Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland) at a chemical company, but after Jack unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, the company is taken over by Jack's cocaine-addicted son Bobby (Farrell), whose apathy and incompetence threaten the future of the company.


At night, over drinks, Kurt jokingly suggests that their lives would be happier if their bosses were no longer around. Initially hesitant, they eventually agree to kill their employers. In search of a hitman, the trio meet Dean "Motherfuckah" Jones (Foxx), an ex-con who agrees to be their "murder consultant". Jones suggests that Dale, Kurt and Nick kill each other's bosses to hide their motive while making the deaths look like accidents.


The three reconnoiter Bobby's house, and Kurt steals Bobby's phone. They next go to Harken's house, where Kurt and Nick go inside while Dale waits in the car. Harken returns home and confronts Dale for littering, but then has an allergy attack from the peanut butter on the litter. Dale saves Harken by stabbing him with an EpiPen. Nick and Kurt think Dale is stabbing Harken to death and flee, with Kurt accidentally dropping Bobby's phone in Harken's bedroom. The next night, Kurt watches Julia's home, but she seduces and has sex with him. Nick and Dale reluctantly wait outside Bobby's and Harken's houses, respectively, to commit the murders, despite neither of them wanting to. Harken discovers Bobby's cellphone in his bedroom and uses it to find his address, suspecting his wife Rhonda (Julie Bowen) is having an affair. He drives over and kills Bobby, with Nick as a secret witness.


Nick flees at high speed, setting off a traffic camera. The trio meet to discuss their reservations about continuing with their plan. They are arrested by the police, who believe the camera footage makes them suspects in Bobby's murder. Lacking evidence, the police are forced to let the trio go free. The trio consult with Jones again, but learn that he never actually killed anyone, having been imprisoned for bootlegging the film Snow Falling on Cedars. Jones suggests that they get Harken to confess and secretly tape it. The three accidentally crash Harken's surprise birthday party, where Nick and Dale get Harken to confess to the murder before realizing that Kurt, who has the audio recorder, is elsewhere having sex with Rhonda. Harken threatens to kill all three for attempting to blackmail him. They flee by car, but Harken gives chase and repeatedly rams their vehicle. Believing they have committed a crime, the car's navigation-system operator remotely disables Kurt's car, allowing Harken to catch and hold them at gunpoint. Harken shoots himself in the leg as he boasts about his plan to frame them for murdering Bobby and attempting to kill him to get rid of the witness.


The police arrest Nick, Dale and Kurt, but the navigation-system operator, Gregory, reveals that it is his companies policy to record all conversations for quality assurance. Gregory plays the tape that has Harken confessing he murdered Pellitt. Harken is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while the friends get their charges waived. Nick is promoted to president of the company under a sadistic CEO, Kurt retains his job under a new boss, and Dale blackmails Julia into ending her harassment by convincing her to sexually harass a supposedly unconscious patient, while Jones secretly records the act.


== Cast ==


Jason Bateman as Nick Hendricks


An executive at a financial firm who is manipulated into jumping through hoops in order to get a promotion that his boss never intended to give him. Markowitz wrote the role specifically for Bateman.


Charlie Day as Dale Arbus


A dental assistant who is sexually harassed by his boss. Described as a "hopeless romantic" in love with his fiancée. Ashton Kutcher was in talks for the role at two different points in the lengthy production. Day was considered for the role following his co-starring performance with Sudeikis in the 2010 film Going the Distance — Reuters reported that industry insiders believed his performance overshadowed the main stars.


Jason Sudeikis as Kurt Buckman


An account manager at a chemical company dealing with a new, drug-addicted boss after his beloved former boss dies. Sudeikis was cast in May 2010.


Jennifer Aniston as Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S.


Markowitz based the character on a former boss, claiming she was "very sexually aggressive with everybody". When writing the script, Markowitz intended for the role to go to Aniston. He stated, " but [the aforementioned boss] looked more like Cruella de Vil. It was like flirting with a cobweb. So I decided for the sake of the movie, let ’ s go with Jennifer Aniston. ” The actress insisted on wearing a brown wig for the role, wanting to look different from other characters she had played.


Colin Farrell as Bobby Pellitt


Described as a "weaselly scion" and a "corrupt and incompetent jerk who's in charge of things but clearly has no idea what he's doing." Farrell explained the motivation he gave to the character, stating "This guy thinks he's God's gift to women, God's gift to intellect, to humor, to the club scene, to everything. It's all part of his grandiose sense of self-esteem, which is probably masking a deeper sense of being a disappointment to his father and being riddled with envy over the relationship his father had with Kurt, and all kinds of other things. With Pellit, Seth gave me complete license to act as pathologically screwed up as possible." Farrell contributed significantly to the appearance of his character, suggesting the comb over hairstyle, pot-belly and an affinity for Chinese dragons.


Kevin Spacey as David Harken


President of Comnidyne Industries. Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jeff Bridges had been approached by New Line Cinema to take the role, described as a psychopathic master manipulator with an attractive wife. Spacey signed up for the role in June 2010. The part was considered "integral" to the film. Gordon commented that the character was an amalgamation of several real bosses (rather than one single person) to avoid being sued.


Jamie Foxx as Dean "Motherfuckah" Jones


The character had the more "colorful" name "Cocksucker Jones", but it was changed at Foxx's request, with producer Jay Stern commenting that Foxx felt it "was over the line". The current name was said to be subject to further change, prior to the release of the film. Foxx contributed to his character's appearance, suggesting full-scalp tattoos and a retro clothing style. Foxx described the appearance as "a guy who maybe went to jail for a minute and now he's living in his own time capsule. When he got out he went right back to the clothes he thought were hot when he went in."


During the six-year development of the film, several actors were in negotiations to star, including Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Reynolds, Dax Shepard, and Johnny Knoxville.


Donald Sutherland portrays Jack Pellitt, Bobby's father and Kurt's boss. On July 27, 2010, Isaiah Mustafa was confirmed as joining the cast. Mustafa was quoted as saying "It's a smaller role". He appears as Officer Wilkens. Julie Bowen appears in the film as Rhonda, Harken's wife. Bowen stated that her character "may or may not be a hussy", the character described as intentionally making her husband jealous. Ioan Gruffudd has a cameo as a male prostitute erroneously hired as a hitman. Lindsay Sloane appears as Dale's fiancee Stacy. P. J. Byrne plays Kenny Sommerfeld, a former investment manager, now scrounging for drinks, while Wendell Pierce and Ron White play a pair of cops. Bob Newhart makes a cameo as sadistic Comnidyne CEO Louis Sherman. John Francis Daley, a screenwriter on the film, cameos as Nick's co-worker Carter.


== Production ==


=== Development ===


Markowitz's script for Horrible Bosses was sold at auction to New Line Cinema by Ratner's production company Rat Entertainment in 2005 for a six-figure amount. Ratner initially was interested in directing, but became occupied with directing the comedy Tower Heist. Frank Oz and David Dobkin were in talks to direct. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley rewrote the script in 2010, and the project went into production with Seth Gordon directing.


=== Design ===


Production designer Shepherd Frankel specifically set out to create distinctly different environments for the three employees and their respective bosses'homes and offices. Nick and Harken's workplace is the "Comnidyne" bullpen, which was designed to "enhance the discomfort and anxiety of lower-level employees clustered in the center of the room where every movement is monitored by the boss from his corner office." The design team met with financial strategists and management companies to learn about the architecture of their office layouts to visually represent the experience of starting from a low-ranking position in a cubicle and aspiring to an office. Costume designer Carol Ramsey worked with Frankel and set decorator Jan Pascale to match Harken's suit to that of the surrounding "cold grey and blue" color palette of his office. Harken's home was described as "equally lacking in warmth" as the office but more lavishly decorated and "for show", including an intentionally oversized portrait of him with his "trophy wife".


Designing Julia's office was described as a "challenge", infusing a "sensual vibe" into a dental office. Frankel approached the design through Julia's mentality, stating, "She's a Type A professional at the top of her game, who likes to play cat-and-mouse, so it's a completely controlled environment, with apertures and views into other rooms so she always knows what's going on". "It's highly designed, with rich wallpaper and tones, sumptuous artwork and subtle lighting — all very disarming till you step into her private office. The blinds close, the door locks and you think, 'It's the Temple of Doom. '" Similarly approaching the character's home, the design allowed for wide windows which face onto a public street "which afford her the opportunity to put on the kind of show she couldn 't get away with at work."


Bobby's environments were designed with more contrast, the character being new to the work area. Frankel described the contrast as "the company reflects [Jack Pellitt's] human touch, whereas [Bobby Pellitt's] home is a shameless shrine to himself and his hedonistic appetites." Frankel continued, "It features a mishmash of anything he finds exotic and erotic, mostly Egyptian and Asian motifs with an' 80s Studio 54 vibe, a makeshift dojo, lots of mirrors and a massage table." Some parts of the house design were provided by Farrell and Gordon's interpretation of the character and his "infatuation" with martial arts and "his delusions of prowess".


=== Filming ===


Filming of Horrible Bosses took place in and around Los Angeles. The production team attempted to find locations "that people haven 't already seen a hundred times in movies and on TV", aiming for the film to appear as if it could be taking place anywhere in America "where people are trying to pursue the American dream but getting stopped by a horrible boss." "Comnidyine" was represented by an office building in Torrance, California, with the crew building the set on a vacant floor. For "Pellitt Chemical", the production team found a "perfect landscape of pipes and containers" in Santa Fe Springs, surrounding an unoccupied water cleaning and storage facility. To take advantage of the surrounding imagery, the warehouse required an extensive series of overhauls, including cutting windows into concrete walls and creating new doorways to allow for visuals of the warehouse exterior and provide a setting for the final scene of Sutherland's character. A T.G.I. Friday's in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, was used as a bar frequented by Nick, Dale, and Kurt, while the bar scene where they meet with Jones was staged in downtown Los Angeles.


The film was shot digitally using the Panavision Genesis camera. Gordon encouraged the actors to improvise, though Aniston claimed to not have taken advantage of the offer as much as her co-stars, stating, " My dialogue was just so beautifully choreographed that there wasn ’ t much that I needed to do ”.


=== Music ===


The soundtrack was composed by award-winning composer Christopher Lennertz, with music contributed by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band and Money Mark — a collaborator with the Beastie Boys. McCready, Lessard, and Mark worked with musicians Matt Chamberlain, David Levita, Aaron Kaplan, Victor Indrizzo, Chris Chaney, Davey Chegwidden and DJ Cheapshot to develop the music. Major contributions were provided by Mark on keyboard, McCready and Levita on guitar, Chaney and Lessard on bass, Indrizzo on drums and DJ Cheapshot on turntables.


Lennertz recorded the soundtrack at The Village recording studio in West Los Angeles and Capitol Records. Lennertz attempted to remain "authentic" to the characters'progression from average worker to calculated killer. To achieve this aim, he decided against recording digitally, instead recording the tracks on two-inch analog tape, intending each musical cue to sound as if it was emanating from a vinyl record. He explained, "The idea was to put together a band that would record the score together the same way that they would make an album. It isn't over-produced or shiny and digital in any way. It's brash, noisy, and full of bravado and swagger. I knew that if we could harness some of this sonic magic in the score, then the toughness and confidence of the music would play against Bateman, Sudeikis, and Charlie Day to really emphasize and elevate the humor in the situations that transpire." Lennertz continued, "We tracked through tape before Pro Tools to get that fat sound, and made every choice based on feel rather than perfection. We even used the same Wurlitzer that Money Mark played on Beck's classic ‘ Where It's At ’. At the end of the day, Seth [Gordon] and I wanted to produce a score that is as irreverent and full of attitude as the movie itself. I think we did it ... and most of all, everyone had a blast in the process."


Horrible Bosses: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in physical and digital formats on July 5, 2011, by WaterTower Music. The soundtrack consists of 33 tracks with a runtime of 63 minutes.


== Release ==


The world premiere of Horrible Bosses took place on June 30, 2011 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California.


=== Box office ===


Horrible Bosses grossed $ 117.5 million (56.1 %) in the North America and $ 92.2 million (43.9 %) in other territories for a worldwide gross of $ 209.6 million, against its budget of $ 35 million.


North America


Horrible Bosses was released on July 8, 2011 in the United States and Canada across 3,040 theaters. It grossed $ 9.9M on the first day, giving it the second largest opening gross for an original R-rated comedy of the summer, behind Bad Teacher ($ 12.2M). For the opening weekend, the film took in a total of $ 28,302,165, an average of $ 9,310 per theater, making it the number two film for the weekend, behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($ 47.1M), the second highest-grossing opening weekend for an original R-rated comedy, again behind Bad Teacher ($ 31.6M), and the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a dark / black comedy film, overtaking the 2004 The Stepford Wives ($ 21.4M). The opening weekend audience was 51 % male, and 64 % of the audience were over 25 years of age. The second weekend (15 – 17 July) saw a further 94 theaters added, for a total of 3,134. Box office revenue dropped by a "respectable" 38 %, taking $ 17.6M for a total gross of $ 60M in ten days. The film ranked third for the weekend. It remained in the top five films during its third week, dropping 33 % and leaving thirty theaters from the previous weekend, to take in $ 11.9M for a gross of $ 82.6M in 17 days. On July 28, 2011, with $ 87.6M after 20 days, Horrible Bosses surpassed The War of the Roses ($ 86.8M) to become the highest grossing dark / black comedy film in unadjusted dollars.


Other territories


Horrible Bosses was released on July 7, 2011, in the United Arab Emirates ($ 258,108), and on July 8 in Estonia ($ 24,471), Latvia ($ 15,750), Lebanon ($ 36,316) and Lithuania ($ 13,676), grossing $ 348,321 for the opening weekend and accruing a total of $ 855,009 in the first 17 days. On the weekend of July 21 – 24, the film opened in the United Kingdom ($ 3,386,876), Greece ($ 367,845), Israel ($ 200,372), South Africa ($ 193,632), Norway ($ 109,252) and East Africa ($ 7,324).


=== Critical reception ===


Horrible Bosses received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 68 %, based on 208 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2 / 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's nasty, uneven, and far from original, but thanks to a smartly assembled cast that makes the most of a solid premise, Horrible Bosses works." Review aggregate Metacritic gave the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it "well-cast" and commending it for playing to each actor's strengths. Ebert gave particular praise to Spacey, labeling him "superb", and Aniston, judging her performance to be a "surprise" and a return to form, stating "she has acute comic timing and hilariously enacts alarming sexual hungers". Ebert called Horrible Bosses "cheerful and wicked". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly reacted positively, calling the film "a bouncy, well-built, delightfully nasty tale of resentment, desperation, and amoral revenge" and complimented the casting of the protagonists and antagonists. The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin also praised the cast, stating that the picture "succeeds almost entirely on the chemistry of its three leads, who remain likeable even while resorting to homicide", adding the "acting more than compensates for the film's other failings." Rabin singled out Day's performance as "a potent illustration of how a brilliant character actor with a spark of madness can elevate a ramshackle lowbrow farce into a solid mainstream comedy through sheer force of charisma." Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net credited director Seth Gordon with having assembled "the perfect cast", claiming "the six leads kill in every scene", but echoed Nathan Rabin's sentiments that Day is the "real standout". Douglas summarized the picture as "dark fun that works better than expected due to a well-developed script, an impeccable cast and a director who knows how to put the two together". A. O. Scott of The New York Times stated "the timing of the cast ... is impeccable" and appreciated that the script did not attempt "to cut its coarseness with a hypocritical dose of sweetness or respectability". The review concluded that "in the ways that count and even when it shouldn ’ t, Horrible Bosses works."


USA Today's Scott Bowles awarded the film three out of four stars, labeling it a "surprising comedy that rivals Bridesmaids as the funniest film of the summer, if not the year." Bowles added that "the characters are so likable", giving particular credit to Sudeikis though also adding praise for the performances of Bateman and Day. The dialogue was also lauded by Bowles, which commented that "Seth Gordon has a deft touch with water-cooler talk — even when the water cooler might be spiked with poison." Leonard Maltin of indieWire considered Day to have had the "breakout role" and offered praise to the performances of the cast, but lamented the lack of screen time for Farrell's character. Maltin concluded "the movie has just enough raunchiness to identify it as a 2011 comedy, just enough cleverness to admire, and just the right camaraderie among its three male stars, which turns out to be the movie ’ s greatest strength." Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gave kudos to the "killer cast", with specific credit given to Bateman and Day, but was critical of the movie, stating "it wussies out on a sharp premise" and that it is a "hit-and-miss farce that leaves you wishing it was funnier than it is" The Guardian's Philip French called Horrible Bosses "a lumbering, misogynistic affair", but admitted "I laughed frequently, probably to the detriment of my self-respect." Nicholas Barber of The Independent gave a positive review, complimenting Gordon for not allowing the actors' improvisation to be detrimental to the pacing, but felt the movie was not as "dark" as its premise required, saying "what edginess the film does have comes instead from the inordinate quantity of swearing, plus a smattering of homophobia and misogyny."


Salon's Andrew O'Hehir offered a mixed response, characterizing the film as a "lot funnier in theory than in practice, but it won 't ruin your Saturday night". Salon appreciated the "effortless comic chemistry" between Sudeikis, Bateman and Day and singled out Bateman, Aniston and Spacey for their performances. O'Hehir was however critical of the perceived homophobia, sexism and racism. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt responded negatively, stating the jokes failed to be funny, stating "Seth Gordon shows no flair for turning the absurdities and cartoonish characters in the script ... into anything more than a collection of moments in search of laughs." Karina Longworth of The Village Voice was critical of the premise, which she felt lacked any legitimate "rage" against the characters' bosses, stating "... there's every sign that, even without these particular emasculators, Dale, Kurt and Nick would still be — for lack of a better word — total pussies." Longworth felt that the humor was "rarely actually laugh-out-loud funny, and never truly dark or daring". She particularly criticized the all-white, male protagonists and a plot she deemed racist and filled with "stereotypes". Justin Chang of Variety praised the performance of the ensemble cast, but considered the plot to be "predictably moronic, vulgar and juvenile". Chang echoed the sentiments of The Village Voice in lamenting that the film failed to pursue the premise to "darker, more daring territory" and faulted it for falling back on "over-the-top comic exaggeration".


=== Accolades ===


The film received several award nominations, including a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor for Colin Farrell, and three nominations from the 2012 Comedy Awards, including Comedy Actor for Bateman, Comedy Actress for Aniston, and best Comedy Film. Farrell and Aniston were both nominated for Best On-Screen Dirt Bag at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, with Aniston claiming the award. Farrell also received a nomination for Best On-Screen Transformation.


=== Home media ===


On July 26, 2011, FX obtained the rights to the network premiere of the film.


Horrible Bosses was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States on October 11, 2011. The DVD version sold an estimated 400,682 units in the United States during its first week, earning approximately $ 6.1 million. It was the number 2 best selling DVD of the week, finishing behind Green Lantern, and the number 3 Blu-ray disc film behind Green Lantern and The Lion King. As of November 2012, it has sold an estimated 1.3 million units and earned $ 18.3 million.


The DVD contains the theatrical cut of the film and deleted scenes. The Blu-ray Disc edition contains the Blu-ray Disc, the DVD and a digital version of the film in a single pack. The Blu-ray Disc version is an unrated, extended cut (the "Totally Inappropriate Edition") with a runtime of 106 minutes compared to the theatrical 98 minutes. The Blu-ray Disc contains deleted scenes and four featurettes: My Least Favorite Career, Surviving a Horrible Boss, Being Mean Is So Much Fun, and The Making of the Horrible Bosses Soundtrack. Both the theatrical and extended cuts are presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.39: 1 with DTS-HD Master Audio sound. Beginning with the Blu-ray Disc release of Horrible Bosses and Green Lantern, Warner Bros. included a code that allows the owner to access a version of the film via UltraViolet, a cloud storage service which allows streaming or downloading to a variety of devices.


== Sequel ==


Seth Gordon confirmed in July 2011 that talks were underway for a sequel, after the financial success of the film in the United States, saying: "Yeah, we 've definitely discussed it. It's done well in the States, the film has, so that's becoming a more concerted effort now, we're trying to figure out what the sequel could be." On January 4, 2012, it was confirmed that a sequel was moving forward, and that Goldstein and Daley would be returning to write the script. New Line was reported to be negotiating with Gordon to return as director, with Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis also expected to return to their roles. On February 27, 2012, it was confirmed that Goldstein and Daley were in the process of writing the new script. In March 2013, Goldstein and Daley confirmed that they had submitted multiple draft scripts for the sequel, and that production had moved towards finalizing the budget. Later in the same month Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis were confirmed to be reprising their roles, with Foxx negotiating to return. The film will again be produced by Brett Ratner and Jay Stern. In August 2013, it was announced that Gordon would not be returning to direct because of scheduling conflicts and that the studio was actively searching for a replacement. In September 2013, Sean Anders was announced as Gordon's replacement, with John Morris joining the production as a producer. The pair had previously performed a rewrite on Goldstein's and Daley's sequel script. Filming had been scheduled to begin in summer 2013, but began in November 2013. Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey reprised their roles, with Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine joining the cast.


= 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot =


The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho) to assassinate Charles Turner, the then-United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela (Sheela Silverman), assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud and sham marriages, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack in The Dalles, Oregon.


The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.


Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General.


== Planning ==


=== Hit list ===


Seven followers (called Rajneeshees) of charismatic leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy to assassinate Charles Turner, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriages organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack in The Dalles, Oregon. Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.


In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman (Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse from the Philippines who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.


Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune. Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, former member Helen C. Byron (Ma Idam Shunyo), who had been awarded US $ 1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International, her daughter Barbara J. Byron (Makima), and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).


=== Weapons ===


Catherine Jane Stork volunteered to be the follower who would actually murder Turner, and bought guns and silencers. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant and the group's Chief Financial Officer, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.


Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas to purchase handguns. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".


In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security-Six Magnum revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.


=== Surveillance ===


After obtaining guns the conspirators returned to Portland, Oregon. They rented out an apartment in Portland to serve as their base of operations for the assassination of Turner. Rajneesh follower Carol Matthews (Ma Prem Samadhi) used a fake name during the planning of the assassination plot, in an attempt to obtain the home address of Charles Turner. According to federal prosecutors Matthews obtained a college yearbook of Turner's, and learned his car's license plate number and his parking location. Court records state that Matthews and an unindicted co-conspirator gave voter registration officials fake identities and told officials they were conducting "a voter survey on President Reagan's economic plan", in order to obtain Turner's route number and post office box number. The two tried repeating the story with members of the U.S. Postal Service, but the postal officials did not give them Turner's address. They then drove around Turner's neighborhood and were able to find his home by locating a sign in front of his residence that said "Turner". Matthews had pictures of Turner's residence developed; these were later obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.


Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the FBI, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."


The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcement officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.


== Prosecutions ==


=== Investigation ===


On February 28, 1985, Congressman James H. Weaver gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.


The Oregonian was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.


Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that FBI agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.


A grand jury investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, 21 followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.


=== Arrests and convictions ===


Chief criminal assistant U.S. attorney Baron C. Sheldahl was assigned to prosecute the charges of federal wiretapping, and a special team from the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division was tasked with prosecuting the murder conspiracy charges. Four of the perpetrators were arrested in September 1990. Catherine Jane Stork and Richard Kevin Langford were arrested in West Germany, Ann Phyllis McCarthy was arrested in South Africa, and Susan Hagan was arrested in England. In September 1990, Alma Peralta pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Peralta, who had served as Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and confidante, agreed to testify against the other defendants in the murder conspiracy. Under the terms of Peralta's plea agreement she received a sentence of two years in federal prison. Carol Matthews was arrested in Baden-Baden, Germany in October 1990 on charges of wiretapping and conspiracy to murder Turner, where she was held along with three other Rajneeshees. At the time of her arrest, Matthews was found in possession of a false British passport, and had been traveling under the fake name of "Daphene Fosberry". Indictments were brought against Ma Anand Sheela and six other co-conspirators by a federal grand jury in November 1990.


In April 1991, Carol Matthews and Richard Kevin Langford (Swami Anugiten) were extradited from Germany to the United States in order to appear in federal court in Portland, Oregon. Law enforcement officials from the United States Marshals Service traveled to Frankfurt, Germany and took custody of the Matthews and Langford at Rhine Main Airport. On April 15, 1991, Matthews and Langford appeared in federal court in Oregon, and both pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and carrying out wiretapping. On April 25, 1991, Richard Kevin Langford pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the murder conspiracy plot against Turner, and in exchange he received a sentence of five years in federal prison and the dismissal of other charges against him relating to firearms and wiretapping. Langford agreed to testify against the other members of the murder conspiracy. Langford wrote on his plea agreement form: "In 1985, meetings were held at the Rancho Rajneesh ... at which time the possible killing of the United States Attorney for Oregon was discussed. I participated in a number of these meetings and agreed with others to work toward that object." Prosecutor Timothy J. Reardon III stated that Langford had been a member of the Rajneesh commune in Oregon since it began in 1981, and that the government was able to prove he joined the murder conspiracy at a point in time after May 25, 1985. Reardon said that Langford was a member of a group called the "Circle of 38", which was the personal security force that guarded Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and that he had served as a weapons instructor and policeman at the commune. Langford told U.S. District Judge Malcom F. Marsh that he had suggested that guns for the murder conspiracy could be bought in Texas, instructed the conspiractors about silencers, took responsibility for the weapons while they were in the commune, and disposed of them when members of the murder conspiracy decided to flee the U.S. for Europe. In July 1991, Carol Matthews entered a guilty plea and was convicted in federal court, she was sentenced to five years in prison.


Catherine Jane Stork was convicted of the attempted murder of Rajneesh's physician Dr. George Meredith (Swami Devaraj) in 1986, and served almost three years in jail. After her release, agents from the FBI uncovered the plot to assassinate Turner, but Stork had already fled to Germany. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1990. In 1991, the German government refused to extradite Stork back to the United States. In June 1991, U.S. prosecutors filed affidavits in the murder conspiracy case with the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe, Germany, as part of an attempt to extradite Catherin Jane Stork from Germany to the U.S. The affidavits stated that all of the members in the murder conspiracy plot also belonged to a group of Rajneesh followers at the Oregon commune known as "the 38", and were trained in "commando tactics using Uzi semiautomatic rifles and handguns". David Berry Knapp (known to Rajneesh followers as Swami Krishna Deva) stated in an FBI affidavit that the murder conspiracy was motivated by Ma Anand Sheela's "tremendous anger" towards Turner.


Ma Anand Sheela served 29 months in a minimum security federal prison for charges related to assault, attempted murder, arson, wiretapping and the 1984 bioterror attack in The Dalles, and moved to Switzerland after her release from prison in 1988. The assassination conspiracy was discovered after Sheela had left the United States, and as of 1999 she was still wanted by federal law enforcement for her role in the plot, and risked extradition if she crossed the Swiss border. Switzerland declined an extradition request from the United States, and instead tried her in a Swiss court. Sheela was found guilty of "criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder" in 1999, and sentenced to time already served.


Sally-Anne Croft and Susan Hagan were extradited from Britain in 1994, and were convicted by a jury decision on July 28, 1995 for their roles in the assassination plot. They had unsuccessfully attempted to appeal their extradition from Britain to Home Secretary Michael Howard. During their trial the prosecution presented twenty-nine witnesses, including former followers of Rajneesh who placed both women in planning meetings where they discussed murdering Turner. David Berry Knapp, the former mayor of Rajneeshpuram, testified for the government in the case and implicated Croft and Hagan in the assassination conspiracy. Ava Kay Avalos (Ma Ava), a Rajneesh disciple, testified in the Croft case and stated that she had been part of the conspirators that plotted to assassinate Turner. In addition to Knapp and Avalos, co-conspirators Richard Kevin Langford, Phyllis Caldwell, and Alma Peralta testified in the case pursuant to conditional plea or immunity agreements. Both women were sentenced to five years in prison. Croft and Hagan did not testify during their trial. "We hashed over everything – evidence, notes, evidence, notes. I think we did an absolutely fabulous job," said one of the jurors. At the sentencing for Croft and Hagan, the federal Judge Malcolm Marsh described them as "people of obvious goodwill who had committed an extremely serious offense against the criminal justice system." Prosecutor Tim Reardon called the conspiracy to commit assassination "a deadly serious crime aimed at the heart of the criminal justice system." Croft and Hagan were released from imprisonment at FCI Dublin, California in April 1998, and returned to Britain.


In December 2002, Ann Phyllis McCarthy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of USD $ 10,000. McCarthy had served as fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram, and was known by Rajneesh's followers as Ma Yoga Vidya. Turner called the one-year prison sentence "laughable." In court statements, McCarthy stated "I cannot forgive myself for not being tougher at the time," and called her time with the group "psychological torture."


In February 2006, Stork became the last perpetrator sentenced in the political assassination plot, after ten months of negotiations with Oregon prosecutors. Stork offered to turn herself in and return to the United States after learning of her son's terminal brain tumor. Prior to sentencing, the court allowed her to travel to Australia to visit her son. In addition to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Stork also pleaded guilty to the purchase of weapons in violation of federal firearms law. An Oregon judge sentenced her to five years probation, and three months time already served in a German jail. Turner thought she should have received a harsher sentence, and commented "This was a lying-in-wait conspiracy to murder me, a presidential appointee, and for a long time I slept with a loaded gun beside my bed." Though Stork could have faced life in prison, U.S. District Judge Judge Malcolm F. Marsh thought she had "seen the error of her ways." A federal prosecutor in the case described Stork as the "MVP" of the conspiracy, and said she was the designated assassin that was set to murder Turner. After her sentencing, Stork stated: "I actually conspired to kill Mr. Turner, it is up to me alone to face this terrible truth ... No person has the right to do what I did. I'm truly sorry." Stork returned to Germany after her sentencing.


In an affidavit, Timothy J. Reardon III, lead prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice in the case, stated Ma Anand Sheela had told members of the murder conspiracy that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had personally authorized the "necessary" murder of specific enemies of the Rajneesh commune. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh paid a fine of US $ 400,000, agreed to plead guilty to immigration fraud, and was deported from the United States. He agreed to leave the United States and not return unless given permission first from the United States Attorney General. Joseph T. McCann writes in Terrorism on American Soil "Nevertheless, he was never prosecuted for any of the more serious crimes perpetrated by cult members, including the salmonella poisoning."


=== Sentences ===


Conspiracy to assassinate a United States Attorney


Wiretapping, and other charges, testified in assassination case


= Die Another Day =


Die Another Day (2002) is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film follows Bond as he leads a mission to North Korea, during which he is betrayed and, after seemingly killing a rogue North Korean colonel, is captured and imprisoned. Fourteen months later, Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange. Surmising that someone within the British government betrayed him, he attempts to earn redemption by tracking down his betrayer and killing a North Korean agent he believes was involved in his torture.


Die Another Day, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori, marked the James Bond franchise's 40th anniversary. The series began in 1962 with Sean Connery starring as Bond in Dr. No. Die Another Day includes references to each of the preceding films.


The film received mixed reviews. Some critics praised the work of Lee Tamahori, while others criticised the film's heavy use of computer-generated imagery, which they found unconvincing and a distraction from the film's plot. Nevertheless, Die Another Day was the highest-grossing James Bond film up to that time if inflation is not taken into account.


== Plot ==


MI6 officer James Bond — agent 007 — infiltrates a North Korean military base, where Colonel Tan-Sun Moon is illegally trading weapons for African blood diamonds. After Moon's assistant Zao discovers that Bond is a British agent, the colonel attempts to kill Bond and a hovercraft chase ensues, which ends with Moon's apparent death. Bond survives, but is captured by North Korean soldiers and imprisoned by the Colonel's father, General Moon.


After 14 months of captivity and torture, Bond is traded for Zao in a prisoner exchange. He is sedated and taken to meet M, who informs him that his status as a 00 Agent is suspended under suspicion of having leaked information under duress. Bond is convinced that he has been set up by a double agent in the British government and decides to avenge his betrayal. After escaping from the custody of MI6, he discovers that he is in Hong Kong, where he learns from a Chinese agent that Zao is in Cuba.


In Havana Bond meets NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson and follows her to a gene therapy clinic, where patients can have their appearances altered through DNA restructuring. Bond locates Zao inside the clinic and attempts to kill him, but Zao escapes. He leaves behind a pendant which leads Bond to a cache of diamonds, identified as conflict diamonds, but bearing the crest of the company owned by British billionaire Gustav Graves.


At Blades Club in London Bond meets Graves, along with his assistant Miranda Frost, who is also an undercover MI6 agent. After a fencing exercise (and a literal sword-fight), Bond is invited by Graves to Iceland for a scientific demonstration. Shortly afterwards, M restores Bond's Double-0 status and offers assistance in the investigation.


At his ice palace in Iceland Graves unveils a new orbital mirror satellite, "Icarus", which is able to focus solar energy on a small area and provide year-round sunshine for crop development. During the night, Jinx infiltrates Graves' command centre, but is captured by Graves and Zao. Bond rescues her and later discovers that Colonel Moon is still alive. Moon has used the gene therapy technology to change his appearance, assuming the identity of Gustav Graves.


Bond confronts Graves, but Frost arrives to reveal herself as the traitor who betrayed Bond in North Korea, forcing 007 to escape from Graves' facility. Bond then returns in his Aston Martin Vanquish to rescue Jinx, who has been captured once again. Zao pursues him in his own vehicle, both cars driving inside the rapidly melting ice palace. Bond kills Zao by shooting an ice chandelier onto him, and then revives Jinx after she has drowned.


Bond and Jinx pursue Graves and Frost to the Korean peninsula and stow away on Graves' cargo plane. Graves reveals his true identity to his father, and the purpose of the Icarus satellite: to cut a path through the Korean Demilitarized Zone with concentrated sunlight, allowing North Korean troops to invade South Korea and reunite the peninsula by force. Horrified, General Moon tries to stop the plan, but he is murdered by his own son.


Bond attempts to shoot Graves but he is prevented by one of the soldiers on board. In their struggle, a gunshot pierces the fuselage, causing the plane to descend rapidly. Bond engages Graves in a fist fight, and Jinx attempts to regain control of the plane. Frost attacks Jinx, forcing her to defend herself in a sword duel. After the plane passes through the Icarus beam and is further damaged, Jinx kills Frost. Graves attempts to escape by parachute, but Bond opens the parachute, causing Graves to be pulled out of the plane and into one of its engines, killing him and disabling the Icarus beam. Bond and Jinx then escape from the disintegrating plane in a helicopter from the cargo hold, carrying away Graves' stash of diamonds in the process.


== Cast ==


Pierce Brosnan as James Bond 007, an MI6 agent.


Halle Berry as Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson, an NSA agent.


Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves, a British entrepreneur, alter ego of Colonel Moon.


Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost, undercover MI6 agent and double agent.


Rick Yune as Zao, a North Korean terrorist working for Moon.


Judi Dench as M, the head of MI6.


Will Yun Lee as Colonel Moon, a rogue North Korean army colonel, later uses his alter ego.


Kenneth Tsang as General Moon, Colonel Moon's father.


John Cleese as Q, MI6's quartermaster and armourer.


Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson, M's Deputy Chief of Staff.


Ho Yi as the Hotel manager and Chinese special agent Mr. Chang. In early drafts of the script, it was Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) who aided Bond in Hong Kong, but the idea fell through and Chang was created to replace her.


Rachel Grant as Peaceful Fountains of Desire, a Chinese agent working for Mr. Chang, undercover as a masseuse.


Emilio Echevarría as Raoul, the manager of a Havana cigar factory, and a British sleeper.


Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary.


Michael Gorevoy as Vladimir Popov, Gustav Graves' personal scientist


Lawrence Makoare as Mr. Kil, one of Gustav Graves' henchmen.


Michael Madsen as Damian Falco, Jinx's superior in the NSA.


Vincent Wong as General Li


Joaquin Martinez as an elderly cigar factory worker


Deborah Moore as an airline hostess (Moore is the daughter of former Bond Roger Moore)


Madonna as Verity, a fencing instructor (cameo)


== Production ==


=== Filming ===


Principal photography of Die Another Day began on 11 January 2002 at Pinewood studios. The film was shot primarily in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Cádiz, Spain. Other locations included Pinewood Studios'007 Stage and Maui, Hawaii, in December 2001. Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, and Darrick Doerner performed the pre-title surfing scene at the surf break known as Jaws in Peʻahi, Maui, while the shore shots were taken near Cádiz and Newquay, Cornwall. Scenes inside Graves' diamond mine were also filmed in Cornwall, at the Eden Project. The scenes involving the Cuban locations of Havana and the fictional Isla de Los Organos were filmed at La Caleta, Spain.


The scenes featuring Berry in a bikini were shot in Cádiz. The location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels between takes to avoid catching a chill. Berry was injured during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. The debris was removed in a 30-minute operation.


Gadgets and other props from every previous Bond film and stored in Eon Productions'archives appear in Q's warehouse in the London Underground. Examples include the jetpack in Thunderball and Rosa Klebb's poison-tipped shoe in From Russia with Love. Q mentions that the watch he issues Bond is "your 20th, I believe", a reference to Die Another Day being the 20th Eon-produced Bond film. In London, the Reform Club was used to shoot several places in the film, including the lobby and gallery at the Blades Club, MI6 Headquarters, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Westminster. Svalbard, Norway and Jökulsárlón, Iceland were used for the car chase on the ice with additional scenes filmed at Jostedalsbreen National Park, Norway and RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire; Manston Airport in Kent was used for the scenes involving the Antonov cargo plane scenes. The scene in which Bond surfs the wave created by Icarus when Graves was attempting to kill Bond was shot on the blue screen. The waves, along with all the glaciers in the scene are computer-generated.


The hangar interior of the "US Air Base in South Korea", shown crowded with Chinook helicopters, was filmed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, UK, as were the helicopter interior shots during the Switchblade sequence. These latter scenes, though portrayed in the air, were actually filmed entirely on the ground with the sky background being added in post-production using blue screen techniques. Although the base is portrayed in the film as a US base, all the aircraft and personnel in the scene are British in real life. In the film, Switchblades (one-person gliders resembling fighter jets in shape) are flown by Bond and Jinx to stealthily enter North Korea. The Switchblade was based on a workable model called "PHASST" (Programmable High Altitude Single Soldier Transport). Kinetic Aerospace Inc.'s lead designer, Jack McCornack was impressed by director Lee Tamahori's way of conducting the Switchblade scene and commented, "It's brief, but realistic. The good guys get in unobserved, thanks to a fast cruise, good glide performance, and minimal radar signature. It's a wonderful promotion for the PHASST."


=== Music ===


The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold and released on Warner Bros. Records. He again made use of electronic rhythm elements in his score, and included two of the new themes created for The World Is Not Enough. The first, originally used as Renard's theme, is heard during the mammoth "Antonov" cue on the recording, and is written for piano. The second new theme, used in the "Christmas in Turkey" track of The World Is Not Enough, is reused in the "Going Down Together" track.


The title song for Die Another Day was co-written and co-produced by Mirwais Ahmadzai and performed by Madonna, who also had a cameo in the film as Verity, a fencing instructor. This is the first Bond title sequence to directly reflect the film's plot since Dr. No; all the other previous Bond titles are stand-alone set pieces. The concept of the title sequence is to represent Bond trying to survive 14 months of torture at the hands of the North Koreans. Critics' opinions of the song were sharply divided — it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, but also for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song of 2002 (while Madonna herself won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her cameo). In a MORI poll for the Channel 4 programme "James Bond's Greatest Hits", the song was voted 9th out of 22, and also came in as an "overwhelming number one" favourite among those under the age of 24.


== Marketing tie-ins ==


MGM and Eon Productions granted Mattel the license to sell a line of Barbie dolls based around the franchise. Mattel announced that the Bond Barbies will be at her "stylish best", clad in evening dress and red shawl. Lindy Hemming created the dress, which is slashed to the thigh to reveal a telephone strapped to Barbie's leg. The doll was sold in a gift set, with Barbie's boyfriend Ken posing as Bond in a tuxedo designed by the Italian fashion house Brioni.


Revlon also collaborated with the makers of Die Another Day to create a cosmetics line based around the character Jinx. The limited edition 007 Colour Collection was launched on 7 November 2002 to coincide with the film's release. The product names were loaded with puns and innuendo, with shades and textures ranging from the "warm" to "cool and frosted".


== Release and reception ==


Die Another Day had its world premiere on 18 November 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were guests of honour, making it the second Bond film premiere to be attended by the Queen, the first one being You Only Live Twice in 1967. The Royal Albert Hall had a make-over for the screening and had been transformed into an ice palace. Proceeds from the première, about £ 500,000, were donated to the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund of which the Queen is patron. On the first day, ticket sales reached £ 1.2 million. Die Another Day was the highest grossing James Bond film until the release of Casino Royale. It earned $ 432 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest grossing film of 2002.


Die Another Day became a controversial subject in eastern Asia. The North Korean government disliked the portrayal of their state as brutal and war-hungry. The South Koreans boycotted 145 theatres where it was released on 31 December 2002, as they were offended by the scene in which an American officer issues orders to the South Korean army in the defence of their homeland, and by a lovemaking scene near a statue of the Buddha. The Jogye Buddhist Order issued a statement that the film was "disrespectful to our religion and does not reflect our values and ethics". The Washington Post reported growing resentment in the nation towards the United States. An official of the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that Die Another Day was "the wrong film at the wrong time."


The amount of product placement in the film was a point of criticism, specifically from various news outlets such as the BBC, Time and Reuters who all used the pun "Buy Another Day". Reportedly 20 companies, paying $ 70 million, had their products featured in the film, a record at the time, although USA Today reported that number to be as high as $ 100 million. By choice, the number of companies involved in product placement was dropped to eight for the next Bond film Casino Royale in 2006.


Rotten Tomatoes listed Die Another Day with a 58 % rating. Metacritic gave the film a 56 out of 100 rating, representing "mixed or average reviews." Michael Dequina of Film Threat praised the film as the best of the series to star Pierce Brosnan and "the most satisfying installment of the franchise in recent memory." Larry Carroll of CountingDown.com praised Lee Tamahori for having "magnificently balanced the film so that it keeps true to the Bond legend, makes reference to the classic films that preceded it, but also injects a new zest to it all." Entertainment Weekly magazine also gave a positive reaction, saying that Tamahori, "a true filmmaker", has re-established the series' pop sensuality. Dana Stevens of The New York Times called the film the best of the James Bond series since The Spy Who Loved Me. Kyle Bell of Movie Freaks 365 stated in his review that the "first half of Die Another Day is classic Bond", but that "Things start to go downhill when the ice palace gets introduced."


However, Die Another Day was strongly criticised by some reviewers who felt that the film relied too heavily on gadgets and special effects, with the plot being neglected. James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net said, "This is a train wreck of an action film – a stupefying attempt by the filmmakers to force-feed James Bond into the mindless xXx mold and throw 40 years of cinematic history down the toilet in favor of bright flashes and loud bangs." Of the action sequences, he said, "Die Another Day is an exercise in loud explosions and excruciatingly bad special effects. The CGI work in this movie is an order of magnitude worse than anything I have seen in a major motion picture. Coupled with lousy production design, Die Another Day looks like it was done on the cheap. Gary Brown of the Houston Community Newspapers also described the weak point of the film as" the seemingly non-stop action sequences and loud explosions that appear to take centre stage while the Bond character is almost relegated to second string. "Roger Moore remarked," I thought it just went too far – and that ’ s from me, the first Bond in space! Invisible cars and dodgy CGI footage? Please! "


== Novelisation ==


Die Another Day was written into a novel by the then-current official James Bond writer, Raymond Benson, based on the screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Fan reaction to it was above average. After its publication Benson retired as the official James Bond novelist and a new series featuring the secret agent's adventures as a teenager, by Charlie Higson, was launched in 2005. As the novelisation was published after Benson's final original 007 novel, The Man with the Red Tattoo, it was the final literary work featuring Bond as originally conceived by Ian Fleming until the publication of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth.


== Cancelled spin-off ==


Speculation arose in 2003 of a spin-off film concentrating on Jinx, which was scheduled for a November / December 2004 release. It was originally reported that MGM was keen to set up a film series that would be a "winter olympics" alternative to 'James Bond'. In the late 1990s, MGM had originally considered developing a spin-off film based on Michelle Yeoh's character, Wai Lin, in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies. However, despite much speculation of an imminent movie, on 26 October 2003, Variety reported that MGM had completely pulled the plug on this project, to the dismay of Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson of Eon Entertainment, who were reported to be "clearly furious" about the decision. MGM were keen to instead move on with the next film, Casino Royale.


= Rakie Ayola =


Rakie Olufunmilayo Ayola (born May 1968) is a Welsh actress, best known for her role as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first rose to prominence in the lead role of the 1993 Jeanette Winterson screenplay Great Moments in Aviation. Ayola has worked in theatre, film and television, appearing in a number of Shakespearean theatrical performances, Hollywood films The i Inside and Sahara, and British television shows including Soldier Soldier, EastEnders, Sea of Souls and Doctor Who. She appeared in Holby City from its eighth to eleventh series, from 2006 to 2008, and in 2009 starred in the CBBC musical comedy My Almost Famous Family.


Ayola is an advocate of increased ethnic representation in the entertainment industry, and in 2001 founded her own production company, producing the short film Persephone's Playground for the Cannes film festival in order to further her campaign. In 2006, Ayola was shortlisted for the' Female Performance in TV ' award in the Screen Nation Awards, receiving Honourable Mention in the same category in 2007, and a further shortlisted nomination in 2008. She is married to fellow actor Adam Smethurst, with whom she has two daughters.


== Early life ==


Ayola was born in Cardiff, Wales in May 1968, to a Sierra Leonean mother and a Nigerian father. She was raised by her mother's cousin and his wife in Ely, Cardiff. Ayola's heritage means she is Yoruba by descent, although she does not speak the language. Ayola studied at Windsor Clive Primary and Glan Ely High School, and was a member of the Orbit Youth Theatre, South Glamorgan Youth Theatre, South Glamorgan Youth Choir and the National Youth Theatre of Wales. She left high school before sitting her A Levels in order to pursue her ambition of becoming an actress. She explains: "I 've always wanted to act. I decided at 16 I wanted to make my living acting, but even if I couldn't, I ’ d be in an amateur theatre company." She then went on to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, studying for a three-year acting diploma. Her first acting role was for the Welsh Eisteddfod when still at primary school, playing a lady-in-waiting at the court of King Arthur. Ayola has stated that it was Barbra Streisand's performance in Hello, Dolly! that inspired her to act as a child, though credits her adoptive mother with encouraging her to act professionally. Ayola's first job was selling jeans on Bessemer Road Market in Cardiff. She worked as a chambermaid whilst attending drama school, and, six weeks prior to graduation, was offered a job with the 'Made in Wales' theatre company which enabled her to obtain her union card.


== Career ==


Ayola began her career in the theatre, performing in a number of Shakespearean plays including Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth. She states of this: "Shakespeare keeps coming my way. I love the fact that I get to play people who are much more articulate than I'll ever be". Ayola has performed in Twelfth Night in the lead roles of both Olivia and Viola. She explains: "The role of Viola didn 't sit that well with me for some reason but Olivia makes more sense." She has also appeared in modern performances, assuming the title role of Dido, Queen of Carthage at the Globe Theatre in London in 2003, which she described as "a dream of a part". She has deemed her dream role to be that of Isabella in Measure for Measure, as she once lost out on the part and would like to prove herself capable of playing it.