Why are the James Bond stories named the way they are?

[The Borgified Corpse]

How do some of these James Bond stories get their names? Some are obvious, like Casino Royale, Dr. No, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, & The Spy Who Loved Me. I know that The Living Daylights is a line within the original short story. But where do some of these other titles come from, like Live & Let Die? How did Fleming come up with them?

[Starkers]

Well Live and let Die is just a riff on Live and let Live. As for the others, I dunno, Fleming just made them up I guess Wasn't Goldfinger named after a guy called Goldfinger who Fleming had had a falling out with, or did I imagine that!

Quantum of Solace, lord knows how he came up with that!

[Lonemagpie]

Starkers wrote:

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Wasn't Goldfinger named after a guy called Goldfinger who Fleming had had a falling out with, or did I imagine that!

Erno Goldfinger, a famous architect

Quantum of Solace, lord knows how he came up with that!

That's actually explained in the short story in question

[Starkers]

Lonemagpie wrote:

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Erno Goldfinger, a famous architect

That's actually explained in the short story in question

Oh I know, but still it's an interesting concept to come up with, I love it. Thanks for confirming I'm not mad re Goldfinger!

question is, was Mike Myers pissed at anyone called Goldmember...

[captcalhoun]

The World is Not Enough got its title from the Bond family motto

Goldeneye got its name from Fleming's home in Jamaica

Tomorrow Never Dies was supposed to be called Tomorrow Never Lies as a reference to Carver's newspaper in the film.

License to Kill was named after Bond's freedom to shoot people after 'License Revoked' tested badly.

The Spy Who Loved Me was originally a short story in which a woman in a Canadian motel is hassled by thugs and Bond comes in and saves her. they boink and he's TSW 'loved' her.

For Your Eyes Only is a reference to the classification level 'Eyes Only', typically to a general or station chief or what ever.

[Andrew_Kearley]

Fleming was just very very good at coming up with these elegant sounding titles.

[Allyn Gibson]

captcalhoun wrote:

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The Spy Who Loved Me was originally a short story in which a woman in a Canadian motel is hassled by thugs and Bond comes in and saves her. they boink and he's TSW 'loved' her.

The Spy Who Loved Me was a novel, though Bond's appearance in the book amounts to a short story-sized chunk of text. Fleming so disliked the book that when he sold the rights, he sold only the rights to the book's title, resulting in a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with the book.

[Starkers]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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The Spy Who Loved Me was a novel, though Bond's appearance in the book amounts to a short story-sized chunk of text. Fleming so disliked the book that when he sold the rights, he sold only the rights to the book's title, resulting in a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with the book.

I didn't think Felming disliked the book, I thought it was down to the critical slagging off it got pissing him off? I actually quite like it, its very different, even if as you say 007 is barely in it.

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The Man with the Golden Gun has that title because it's about a man with a golden gun.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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The Spy Who Loved Me was a novel, though Bond's appearance in the book amounts to a short story-sized chunk of text. Fleming so disliked the book that when he sold the rights, he sold only the rights to the book's title, resulting in a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with the book.

Which seemed weird, that the filmmakers were legally forbidden from using any plot elements from the book, even ones they liked. (Although, IIRC, Jaws is loosely inspired by a villain in the book named Horror.)

Starkers wrote:

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Well Live and let Die is just a riff on Live and let Live.

Yes, but what does that phrase have to do with that particular story?

Quantum of Solace, lord knows how he came up with that!

"The Quantum of Solace"!
I don't know what that means.
What does it mean?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CoN...eature=related

[Andrew_Kearley]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

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Yes, but what does that phrase have to do with that particular story?

Well, specifically, it derives from a conversation Bond has with his American contacts about Mr Big - they say that his activities have mostly been within the black community and until they're ready to move against him, their policy towards him is one of "live and let live". Bond rejoinders by saying his own motto when facing a character like Mr Big is "live and let die" - one of the literary Bond's rare forays into humour. (It's in Chapter IV.)

[G2309]

Tomorrow never Dies was meant to be called Tommorow never lies. Which I think is a far better title. But someone madea mistake with a press release and it stuck.

Theres far too many titles with the word "Die" in it

[Marten]

People like death, apparently.

[RandyS]

G2309 wrote:

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Tomorrow never Dies was meant to be called Tommorow never lies. Which I think is a far better title. But someone madea mistake with a press release and it stuck.

Theres far too many titles with the word "Die" in it

Yeah, in a series about a man with a licence to kill, that makes no sense whatsoever.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Quantum of Solace is a reference to the fact that even if Bond gets revenge against those responsible for Vesper's death, he won't get much satisfaction from it. Only a tiny amount - a "quantum" of solace.