Wai Lin - MI6 takes an indepth look at Michelle Yeoh's character Wai Lin from the 1997 film 'Tomorrow Never Dies' - James Bond 007 :: MI6 - The Home Of James Bond Date of Birth: 6th August 1962 Place of Birth: Ipoh Perak, Malaysia Trivia: Has a Bachelor's Degree in Dance from the Royal Academy of Dance, and is the highest paid actress in Asia. PLEASED TO MEET YOU Posing as a reporter for the New China News Agency, Colonel Wai Lin of the People's Republic goes undercover to investigate the suspicious circumstances behind hostilities between her country's armed forces and the British Navy. James Bond bumps into Wai Lin at Elliot Carver's launch party (where she confesses to slipping into the exclusive party and gets away with it, whilst 007 is taken into custody for pretending to be a banker). Then, during a raid on Carver's laboratory in Hamburg 007 and Wai Lin cross paths. Finally, during an underwater reconnaissance of HMS Devonshire, the pair finally team up.

"I always wanted to work with a decadent agent of a corrupt western power." CAUGHT IN THE ACT Wai Lin rebuffs Bond's advances throughout the film until the final sequence, where the pair make waves on the wreckage of Carver's stealth boat, irresponsibly ignoring "are you there?" calls from the British Navy. PROFILE Martial arts specialist Michelle Yeoh gives Wai Lin an explosive on-screen presence in "Tomorrow Never Dies". Wai Lin is James Bond's opposite number in the Chinese People's External Security Force. She has access to her own version of Q-Branch equipped with the latest spy gadgets, including a version of 007's Omega Seamaster, which she claims has had "a few improvements" made to it. Wai Lin prefers stealth to Bond's contrasting run-and-gun mentality, and equips herself with zip wires and pitons to wall walk and escape buildings undetected. Standard equipment also includes special ear-rings with built in lock picks, which she uses to lose Bond after a chase through the streets of Saigon. During the raid on Carver's stealth ship, she is captured after destroying the engine room controls and held as a hostage against Bond.

Despite her demands to complete the mission, Bond keeps to his promise and later rescues her from drowning after the stealth ship has been destroyed. The latest in a line of Bond girls, intended to match up to the resourcefulness of 007. This time, Wai Lin delivers the goods. She can hold her own in a brisk fist-fight and is a very reliable ally, but typically reliant on James Bond to complete her. She is an expert in the martial arts, stealth, explosives, boating and motor-biking, all in equal measure to Bond. BIOGRAPHY Of all the action heroines of Hong Kong cinema, Michelle Yeoh stands out in both acting ability, competency in onscreen martial arts, and in her willingness to perform the most daring stunts imaginable. Born as Yeoh Choo Kheng was in Ipoh, Malaysia. At the age of four, Michelle began training as ballet dancing but also excelled in athletic and sports events - for example, in her teenage years, Michelle enjoyed playing squash and was also a national competitor in swimming and diving. Yeoh achieved a bachelor's degree in creative arts and later attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Yeoh chose a minor in dramatic arts because she thought that it would help her with expression, but did not initially intend to be an actress. Determined to gain a Master's degree in dance, while she was living in England, Michelle explored contemporary, jazz and ballet dancing. Unfortunately, her professional dancing career ended when she encountered a serious injury with her doctor advising her not to perform any stressful physical activities in the near future. In 1983, Michelle returned to her hometown of Ipoh Perak. It was at the age young age of 21 when Michelle became the winner of the Miss Malaysian beauty pageant - but it was not Michelle's idea to enter the contest. The scheme was orchestrated by Michelle's mother and her mother's friends who thought that Michelle would be an excellent contestant in the pageant. It transpired that Yeoh's mother had sent some photos into the competition without Michelle's knowledge. Thus, in order to stop her mother from nagging her, Michelle entered the contest. Later that year, Michelle attended the contest, hosted in Melbourne, where she earned the title of Miss Mooba. As Miss Malaysia, Michelle's public profile boomed.

On the back of her recognition, a friend of Michelle's suggested she accept a part in a D&B Films commercial in Hong Kong, alongside a familiar face: Jackie Chan. The name baffled Yeoh for a moment, as, in Hong Kong, Jackie is known as Sing Lung. After her successful but minor acting role, Michelle was offered a 2-year film contract. While Michelle was working for D&B, she was known as Michelle Khan. D&B gave her this more Anglicised name as they hoped Michelle's films would find a market in the USA. The first movie that she starred in was "The Owl vs. Dumbo" (1984). This was an action/comedy movie directed by Sammo Hung. At this point, Michelle's Cantonese was limited. Living in Malaysia, Michelle spoke some Chinese, but the dominant language was Hokkien. From her first feature film, Michelle found her passion: action. She studied for up to 8 hours a day transforming dance and ballet movements into a form of martial arts. Whilst this film was a comedy, the soon-to-be-star found that comedy was not for her.

While working for D&B Films, Michelle starred in other movies such as "Yes Madam!" with Cynthia Rothrock (on which she first performed all of her own stunts), "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars", "Royal Warriors", "Magnificent Warriors", and "Easy Money". While making "Magnificent Warriors" in 1988, Michelle was feeling the pressure of the shoot and an error in judgment led to the actress sustaining several injuries (a ruptured artery in her leg and a dislocated shoulder). After toning down the action and shooting "Easy Money", Michelle decided it was time to take a break from the camera. She left D&B and had intentions of retiring. In 1988, Michelle married the owner and producer of D&B Films, Dickson Poon. The marriage was short-lived. In 1992, after a divorce, she made a comeback to the world of cinema. She starred in the high-profile adventure film "Police Story III", opposite Jackie Chan. Despite Yeoh's four-year absence from the business, her stunt skills were still as good as ever. She performed martial arts and her own stunts without any wirework.

Soon thereafter, Michelle was signed to star in movies such as the new "Dragon Gate Inn", "The Heroic Trio", "The Executioners", "Holy Weapon", "Once a Cop", and "Wing Chun". Her commitments to all of these films were over the course of just a single year. In 1994, Michelle worked with the great Kung Fu master, Jet Li, in the movie "The Tai Chi Master". During this year, she also starred in "Butterfly" and "Sword" and "The Wonder 7". In 1995, John Woo approached Michelle to work with him in his "Once A Thief" TV series. Regrettably, Michelle's commitments meant that she was unable to sign up to the regular cast of the television series. In 1996, Yeoh changed tack and signed onto the cast of drama "Ah Kam", in which she plays a self-styled role of a stuntwoman. Midway through the production of this movie, the script was altered after Michelle sustained serious injury - falling uncontrolled from an 18-foot height.

After recovering, she took a co-starring role in the semi-biographical picture, "The Soong Sisters", in which she appeared with Maggie Cheung and Vivian Wu. The film was delayed due to its protracted shoot and the need to edit the enormous amount of footage captured in production. In 1997, Michelle was offered a break into the American world of Hollywood. She made her English-speaking debut in the James Bond flick, 'Tomorrow Never Dies' . She made a name for herself in Hollywood with the high-octane Bond adventure and earned roles in "Babylon A.D.", "Memoirs of a Geisha", "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". She is signed up to voice a character in the sequel to successful children's picture, "Kung Fu Panda" and rumoured to be taking on the title-role in a biopic of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh says a woman should never play 007 By Ben Dowell Friday 1 July 2016 at 1:04PM When she played Bond Girl Wai Lin in the 1997 Pierce Brosnan movie Tomorrow Never Dies, Michelle Yeoh's performance was so good some thought she could be the first woman to play the role. And since the film was released, support for a female 007 has been growing with the likes of X-Files star Gillian Anderson joining the clamour for a Jane Bond. However, as our exclusive interview with Yeoh herself suggests, she doesn't think a woman could ever play the part. Speaking to promote the second series of Netflix drama Marco Polo, in which she plays a mysterious figure from Hundred Eyes’ (Tom Wu's) past, Yeoh told RadioTimes.com and co-star Lorenzo Richelmy (Marco Polo himself) why Jane Bond would never be accepted. "They think it's cool with a guy that has many girlfriends but when a woman tries to do that the connotation goes downhill," she laughed.

Far better for a woman to find other ways of playing that sort of role, she says - like her new "kick ass"character in Marco Polo, perhaps? Marco Polo series 2 launches on Netflix today [July 1]. The Way of Wai Lin: Michelle Yeoh Talks Bond - James Bond Radio The Way of Wai Lin: Michelle Yeoh Talks Bond Jack Lugo 0 Comments December 8, 2015 Actress Michelle Yeoh was in Singapore as a special guest of the 26th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), where she was presented with the Cinema Legend Award. At the In Conversation panel, Yeoh spoke about her stint as Bond girl Wai Lin in Tomorrow Michelle Yeoh at the Singapore International Film Festival, 2015 Never Dies and during the roundtable interviews afterwards, I made sure to squeeze in a question about Bond – specifically, how she feels Daniel Craig stacks up against her Bond, Pierce Brosnan. As Bond fans, we know that certain actors embrace being part of the storied franchise and others might prefer to distance themselves from it. It is heartening to know that Yeoh falls into the former category. “I’m very proud of the Bond thing.

You can walk into places in England and say ‘I’m a Bond girl!’” she said with a laugh. “You’re part of a legacy that’s been around for 53 years – what is there to be embarrassed about? Especially my Bond girl, I thought she was pretty cool!” When she is asked if she’s uncomfortable being a Bond girl, her standard reply is “No way! Do you know how cool it is to be a Bond girl?!” The actress hails from Ipoh, Malaysia and had originally intended to become a ballerina, studying at the Royal Academy of Dance in England. A spinal injury prevented her from pursuing this passion and she later turned her attention to acting after being crowned Miss Malaysia in 1983. Yeoh’s first film, the Sammo Hung action comedy Owl vs. Bombo, saw her playing a more traditional damsel in distress role. Yeoh decided that wasn’t her cup of tea and that she wanted to perform stunts herself, which led to a prolific career in Asian films. Michelle Yeoh in The Owl VS Bumbo, 1984 Among the causes Yeoh champions is that of road safety.

She is the global ambassador of the FIA Foundation’s Make Roads Safe initiative and she is an advocate of the use of safety helmets and seatbelts – a touch ironic considering the stunt sequence in Tomorrow Never Dies which saw Wai Lin and Bond handcuffed to each other astride a motorcycle, sans helmets. Yeoh graciously said that she cannot take credit for Wai Lin’s characterisation as it was a conscious decision on the part of director Roger Spottiswoode and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to make the Bond girl an agent who could give Bond a run for his money, in a bid to counter claims that the franchise was “misogynistic”. Yeoh revealed that the very first ideas were a “beautiful Russian girl to play the femme fatale role,” perhaps as a nod to The Spy Who Loved Me. “I was very blessed,” Yeoh said. “In the writer’s room, there were a couple of them who went ‘how about this actress called Michelle Yeoh? She kicks ass!’” Yeoh described Broccoli as “a very strong woman” and recounted how the producer tracked her down and travelled to Italy where Yeoh was filming at the time to take a meeting with her.

Spottiswoode sat Yeoh down to tell her that she was cast not just because she could perform stunts, but because they wanted an actress for the role, saying “If you have no chemistry with Pierce and you can’t act, I can’t find a double for you.” Yeoh said she found this empowering, since being known for action-centric roles in Hong Kong cinema, she was wary of being typecast and being known only as an “action actress”, a label she is not too fond of. “I had the privilege to audition with Pierce,” Yeoh recalled. “Thank god we had chemistry.” According to Yeoh, Brosnan had “no ego” and was perfectly fine with Bond being showed up in some scenes by Wai Lin. “They did want to highlight the fact that we have a Bond girl who’s going to be on par with James Bond. She is herself a spy from China and they are not easy to be reckoned with. She will be as physical as him and [be] able to do whatever he does – or [be] even better,” Yeoh explained. “We had fun and it wasn’t a competition,” she said of the process.

“We had such a great time in front of the camera, behind the camera because he was the best father, great husband, a good man, so we became good friends,” she said of Brosnan. Yeoh acknowledges and appreciates the vast differences between the way Brosnan portrayed Bond and the way Craig plays 007. “Now, I’m biased because I worked with Pierce,” she said, almost reluctantly saying that Connery might edge out Brosnan as her personal favourite Michelle Yeoh at the Singapore International Film Festival, 2015 Bond. “When Pierce was not going to be Bond, everybody goes ‘who’s better-looking than Pierce, who’s taller than Pierce, who’s this than Pierce?’” She recalled, emphasising that “It’s such a burden to carry.” Yeoh referenced the uproar over Craig’s hair colour, and was quick to point out that “Daniel is very similar to the original Bond.” “I love the line when he’s asked how he likes his vodka [martini]; you know it’s always shaken and not stirred, and Daniel’s line is ‘do I look like I give a [damn]’”, she laughed.

Considering Craig’s take on the character, Yeoh said “He’s harder, grittier, rougher, but that is [the decision of] the producers.” “The people who own the franchise, they evolve with their audience. It’s good, because it keeps the franchise fresh, interesting.” Yeoh is already bracing herself for the hubbub that will inevitably be generated when it comes time to recast the role. “If Daniel doesn’t want to do it, who is the next Bond? And I’m sure when that happens, the world will be in a tizzy. All the actors of that age will be in a frenzy to be James Bond.” Article by Jedd Jong Take The Ultimate James Bond Quiz! Enter Your Email Address Below To Get Access To The Special Bonus Episode Featuring All 100 Questions.Are You Ready To Test Your Bond Knowledge? Take The Quiz Michelle Yeoh, the all-action heroine and bond girl, talks about her new film Far North | Film | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close There's a jaunty rap at the door, and in bounds Michelle Yeoh. She's on springs, despite just having arrived in London after stops in Paris, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

But perhaps that's not surprising: from her earliest action films, energy has always characterised her work. We meet in an apartment where glossy copies of Variety magazine are strewn around us, their covers trumpeting potential Oscar contenders such as Frost/Nixon and The Reader. Yeoh, 46, is no stranger to that world. After impressing as the Bond girl Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997, she went on to star in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee's Oscar-winning martial-arts love story of 2000. It was one of the biggest non-English language hits of all time. But the film she has come to discuss is more mesmerising than most of the titles likely to be vying for Hollywood doorstops next February, the mesmerising Far North, directed by the British filmmaker Asif Kapadia and shot on Svalbard, in the Arctic Ocean above Norway, the most northern settlement in the world. Yeoh plays Saiva, who passes her days in the icy wasteland hunting animals with her companion, Anja (Michelle Krusiec), and reflecting on a life that has been cursed ever since a shaman declared she was bad juju.

Wandering the plains one day, who should she find curled up on the ice but Sean Bean? Many women would consider this a boon. But once Bean has thawed out, his presence jeopardises the women's relationship, with unsettling consequences. "When I got the script," Yeoh says, "I thought: either my agent wants to kill me or he's telling me I need a challenge." She gives an emphatic laugh. Like all her films, Far North was hugely physically demanding. Yeoh, who made her name as an action star in Hong Kong in the early to mid 90s, is probably the actor of her age most likely to be found begging a director to stuff the insurers and let her perform her own stunts. While Far North might seem worlds away from movies such as Police Story 3: Supercop (memorable for one particularly awesome motorcycle leap on to a moving train), what they have in common is the sheer stamina each has required of her. Indeed it was the harsh conditions and natural hazards that attracted her to Far North, she says. But then it's probably a breeze to work under constant threat of polar bear attack when you've acted alongside Vin Diesel, as Yeoh did in Babylon AD.

"On Far North, we were always aware of being at the whim of mother nature," she says. "She's the biggest star in the film. But I had always longed to go to the North Pole, and the best time to go somewhere is when you're working on a film. You can roll up your sleeves, get to know the people. That's what I did - I spent time with the locals, I hung out with them, soaked them up, watched how they move and sit, with their legs slightly spread, their shoulders hunched. They don't have big gestures but their movements are basic, refined, pure." She says that the role itself took her "to dark places most of us can't get our heads around. We were all living together on a boat, an ice breaker, with all this jaw-dropping scenery around us - all those miles and miles of nothing." You sense that Far North, like her role last year in Danny Boyle's science-fiction thriller Sunshine, came as something of a tonic after the big-budget productions she's done - from Tomorrow Never Dies to Memoirs of a Geisha ("Two-and-a-half hours in makeup - every day!") to the recent Mummy threequel, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

"It's so important for me to do my own stunts," Yeoh says. "The sense of achievement is so immense. But the studios don't want to take the risk. 'You're an actor, actors don't do stunts!' And if they do let you do anything, they wrap you in so much cotton wool it takes away the fun anyway." Yeoh, who was born Yeoh Chu-Kheng to an affluent Chinese-Malay family in Ipoh, Malaysia, has always been interested in using her body to express herself. "Body language is more fascinating to me than actual language," she says. "Before you get into the mind, you have to inhabit the physicality.

Body language is a great way of speaking." She says she has to use her body "to help the audience overcome the fact that they are watching Michelle Yeoh - I have to rid myself of my usual mannerisms, my usual way of moving and behaving, so that they see only the role, and don't think of, say, Crouching Tiger." Given that she sees her body as her prime mode of self-expression, it's not hard to imagine the trauma she suffered at the age of 16 when her hopes of becoming a ballet dancer were dashed by a back injury. At the time she was studying at London's Royal Academy of Dance, hoping to become a prima ballerina. "People talk about seeing their dreams shattered, but that really happened to me," she says. "The doctor asked me, 'Have you ever thought of doing something other than dance?' Suddenly it hit me: he wasn't joking." The principal pointed out to Yeoh that ballet was only a small part of dance, and that there were other ways for her to express physicality.

Although she couldn't carry on with her dance degree, Yeoh stayed on at the Royal Academy, studying choreography instead, and graduated in 1982 with a BA in creative arts with a minor in drama. It is to be hoped that the kindly principal who advised her back then has since got around to renting out The Story of Stuntwoman Ah Kam, released in 1996, in which Yeoh falls 18ft on to her head, or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where her limbs, muscular and graceful, move at such speed they are a constant blur. After leaving the Academy, Yeoh returned briefly to Malaysia - just long enough for her mother to enter her into a beauty pageant. She picked up the Miss Malaysia title, seemingly the way other people pick up colds, and went on to take part in Miss World (which she did not win). This particular career trajectory was interrupted when, in Hong Kong, she caught the eye of the billionaire studio head Dickson Poon. He persuaded her to make commercials (she starred opposite Jackie Chan in her first one) and then convinced her to sign a movie contract with his company, D&B Films.

Poon then completed a hat-trick by asking Yeoh to marry him. She still expresses surprise that their wedding, in 1988, was a cover story in Hong Kong. But here's the strange part: having launched Yeoh's career, after they married in 1988, Poon asked her to quit acting. Why did she agree? Yeoh explains, patiently, that she was entirely in accord with her then-husband's wishes. "It wasn't a hard decision because I saw marriage as a full existence. I see someone now like Emma Thompson or Kate Winslet, who can juggle their careers and their family life, but that felt beyond me then. Maybe it comes from the Asian culture, but my thinking was that I couldn't be running around all over the world, jumping off buildings, if I was going to give my marriage 100%. When I choose to do something, I always give it my complete commitment. If I feel I've done my best, and it's not going the way it should, then I'll leave.

That's what I did with my marriage." When Yeoh and Boon divorced after just over three years of marriage, she was surprised to find her stock was still high in the film industry . "No one thought I'd left for good - they were keeping my seat warm for me. So I jumped back in." Earlier this year Yeoh announced her engagement to Jean Todt, the French executive director of Ferrari's formula one team. What if he were to suggest she give up acting? "He would never do that," she says. "He would never ask that of me. He's very sensible and supportive. He even came out to see me during Far North. And when he wasn't there, he sent me food packages." This is good news indeed. It would be a shame if Yeoh were to call time on a career in which she has punched and kicked in the face of so many industry prejudices. As an Asian woman in her mid forties, her every appearance on screen defies mainstream cinema's bias towards the youthful, and the Caucasian. "I appreciate I am very blessed, so I do work my hardest when I get the opportunity," she says.

"Asian performers have always had to fight cliched roles - the Suzie Wong type, the Chinatown waitress, the Chinatown-whatever. Even 10 years ago, they were the only roles available. You would think I would've been working non-stop after Tomorrow Never Dies, but my next western film wasn't until Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon three years later. Why? Because no one was offering me the roles I wanted. It was still the same old stereotypes. If you look at my CV, there's not a big repertoire. Things are getting better now, but the same problem still arises sometimes. When I told my agent I wanted to work with Danny Boyle on Sunshine, he said, 'There's not really a role there for an Asian face.' But that's the thing: I'm not an Asian face. I'm an actress. That's what we need to overcome." Take that! Five key Yeoh films Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) Yeoh's triumphant return to acting after a three-year hiatus was one of her most demanding roles.

As a mainland Chinese police officer assisting Hong Kong cop Jackie Chan on an undercover assignment in China, she more than held her own alongside her more famous sidekick, matching him stunt for daredevil stunt. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Yeoh was an unknown quantity to Western audiences when she appeared opposite Pierce Brosnan in his second Bond movie. Her quick-witted, no-nonsense performance refused to adhere to the Bond girl stereotype of subservient eye-candy: Brosnan himself was so impressed by her stylishness, daring and aplomb, he called her "the female James Bond". Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) This was the one for Yeoh - in Ang Lee's peculiarly tender martial arts adventure, she found a role that married her physical prowess to her subtle acting skills. Whether yearning gently for Chow Yun-Fat or trading blows 40ft in the air with young pretender Zhang Ziyi, Yeoh took your breath away.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) There was controversy over the casting of Chinese actors in Japanese parts, but Yeoh's performance as the graceful mentor to the film's heroine again gave her another valuable opportunity, after Crouching Tiger,to express her physical dexterity and dance background in a substantial acting role. Sunshine (2007) It's a testament to Yeoh's flexibility that she fitted in seamlessly as an environmentally concerned astronaut in Danny Boyle's science-fiction thriller, filmed at 3 Mills Studios in east London. As an admirer of Boyle's work, she lobbied hard for the part, which was written for a younger, non-Asian actor. • Far North is in cinemas now Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error James Bond heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

Director: From $10.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 23 titles created 05 Mar 2013 a list of 45 titles created 21 Sep 2014 a list of 23 titles created 10 Dec 2014 a list of 26 titles created 29 Dec 2015 a list of 26 titles created 3 months ago Title: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 6.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations. See more awards » Videos James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain. Director: Michael Apted James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent formerly believed to be dead.

Director: Martin Campbell James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of an international space weapon. Director: Lee Tamahori James Bond goes rogue and sets off to unleash vengeance on a drug lord who tortured his best friend, a C.I.A. agent, and left him for dead and murdered his bride after he helped capture him. Director: John Glen James Bond is living on the edge to stop an evil arms dealer from starting another world war. Bond crosses all seven continents in order to stop the evil Whitaker and General Koskov. Director: John Glen A fake Fabergé egg and a fellow agent's death lead James Bond to uncover an international jewel-smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on N.A.T.O. forces. Director: John Glen Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Director: John Glen James Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.

Director: Guy Hamilton 007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader. Director: Guy Hamilton An investigation of a horse-racing scam leads 007 to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley. Director: John Glen James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed. Director: Lewis Gilbert James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide. Director: Lewis Gilbert Edit Storyline Agent James Bond 007 is on a mission which includes a media tycoon, his former lover and a Chinese agent. Elliot Carver wants to complete his global media empire, but in order for this to work, he must achieve broadcasting rights in China. Carver wants to start up World War III by starting a confrontation over British and Chinese waters. Bond gains the help of Wai Lin on his quest to stop him, but how will Bond feel when he meets up with his former lover, who is now Carver's wife. Written by simon Tha Man. The Number.

The License...are all back. Genres: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, sexuality and innuendo | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 19 December 1997 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El mañana nunca muere See more » Filming Locations: $6,100,000 (Non-US) (12 December 1997) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia The upwards camera angle filming the HALO jump created the illusion of having the stuntman opening its parachute close to the water. See more » Goofs In the opening sequence, after firing the missile, the ship reports back that they have lost contact with the missile because it is out of range and thus it cannot be destroyed. Moments later, back at HQ, M & Co are seen watching the missile's on-board camera as it flies through the mountains towards its target. If the missile can relay images back to base, they could relay a message to the missile it to self-destruct! See more » Quotes [first lines] Charles Robinson : Our man's in position on the center camera. It's like a terrorist supermarket.

Chinese Long March Scud, Panther AS-565 attack helicopter, a pair of Russian mortars, and the crates look like American rifles. Chilean mines. German explosives. Fun for the whole family. James Bond will return. See more » Connections All the Bond tropes, as per the manual 12 November 2015 | by Mr-Fusion (United States) – See all my reviews Coming off the heels of "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies" always felt to me like a by-the-numbers OO7 entry. the filmmakers know what we've come to expect from a Bond film and it confidently delivers: high-end extravagance, globe-hopping, explosions, lots of shooting. And it's fairly methodical in that respect. even the quips are businesslike. And while we're talking about "GoldenEye", Bond is much less of a precise gunman; here, he just picks a direction and sprays. It's probably nitpicking, but that's always jumped out at me. Brosnan's still great, but it's his fellow actors that get the shaft.

Michelle Yeoh's a Hong Kong badass who's always getting saved, and Jonathan Bryce is playing a media tycoon bent on world domination. Sure, he's mean about it, but c'mon, Bond's fighting Rupert Murdoch. It's lame! Not really a bad movie, but also pretty forgettable. 5/10 3 of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Wai Lin - MI6 takes an indepth look at Michelle Yeoh's character Wai Lin from the 1997 film 'Tomorrow Never Dies' - James Bond 007 :: MI6 - The Home Of James Bond Date of Birth: 6th August 1962 Place of Birth: Ipoh Perak, Malaysia Trivia: Has a Bachelor's Degree in Dance from the Royal Academy of Dance, and is the highest paid actress in Asia. PLEASED TO MEET YOU Posing as a reporter for the New China News Agency, Colonel Wai Lin of the People's Republic goes undercover to investigate the suspicious circumstances behind hostilities between her country's armed forces and the British Navy.

James Bond bumps into Wai Lin at Elliot Carver's launch party (where she confesses to slipping into the exclusive party and gets away with it, whilst 007 is taken into custody for pretending to be a banker). Then, during a raid on Carver's laboratory in Hamburg 007 and Wai Lin cross paths. Finally, during an underwater reconnaissance of HMS Devonshire, the pair finally team up. "I always wanted to work with a decadent agent of a corrupt western power." CAUGHT IN THE ACT Wai Lin rebuffs Bond's advances throughout the film until the final sequence, where the pair make waves on the wreckage of Carver's stealth boat, irresponsibly ignoring "are you there?" calls from the British Navy. PROFILE Martial arts specialist Michelle Yeoh gives Wai Lin an explosive on-screen presence in "Tomorrow Never Dies". Wai Lin is James Bond's opposite number in the Chinese People's External Security Force. She has access to her own version of Q-Branch equipped with the latest spy gadgets, including a version of 007's Omega Seamaster, which she claims has had "a few improvements" made to it.

Wai Lin prefers stealth to Bond's contrasting run-and-gun mentality, and equips herself with zip wires and pitons to wall walk and escape buildings undetected. Standard equipment also includes special ear-rings with built in lock picks, which she uses to lose Bond after a chase through the streets of Saigon. During the raid on Carver's stealth ship, she is captured after destroying the engine room controls and held as a hostage against Bond. Despite her demands to complete the mission, Bond keeps to his promise and later rescues her from drowning after the stealth ship has been destroyed. The latest in a line of Bond girls, intended to match up to the resourcefulness of 007. This time, Wai Lin delivers the goods. She can hold her own in a brisk fist-fight and is a very reliable ally, but typically reliant on James Bond to complete her. She is an expert in the martial arts, stealth, explosives, boating and motor-biking, all in equal measure to Bond. BIOGRAPHY Of all the action heroines of Hong Kong cinema, Michelle Yeoh stands out in both acting ability, competency in onscreen martial arts, and in her willingness to perform the most daring stunts imaginable.

Born as Yeoh Choo Kheng was in Ipoh, Malaysia. At the age of four, Michelle began training as ballet dancing but also excelled in athletic and sports events - for example, in her teenage years, Michelle enjoyed playing squash and was also a national competitor in swimming and diving. Yeoh achieved a bachelor's degree in creative arts and later attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Yeoh chose a minor in dramatic arts because she thought that it would help her with expression, but did not initially intend to be an actress. Determined to gain a Master's degree in dance, while she was living in England, Michelle explored contemporary, jazz and ballet dancing. Unfortunately, her professional dancing career ended when she encountered a serious injury with her doctor advising her not to perform any stressful physical activities in the near future. In 1983, Michelle returned to her hometown of Ipoh Perak. It was at the age young age of 21 when Michelle became the winner of the Miss Malaysian beauty pageant - but it was not Michelle's idea to enter the contest. The scheme was orchestrated by Michelle's mother and her mother's friends who thought that Michelle would be an excellent contestant in the pageant.

It transpired that Yeoh's mother had sent some photos into the competition without Michelle's knowledge. Thus, in order to stop her mother from nagging her, Michelle entered the contest. Later that year, Michelle attended the contest, hosted in Melbourne, where she earned the title of Miss Mooba. As Miss Malaysia, Michelle's public profile boomed. On the back of her recognition, a friend of Michelle's suggested she accept a part in a D&B Films commercial in Hong Kong, alongside a familiar face: Jackie Chan. The name baffled Yeoh for a moment, as, in Hong Kong, Jackie is known as Sing Lung. After her successful but minor acting role, Michelle was offered a 2-year film contract. While Michelle was working for D&B, she was known as Michelle Khan. D&B gave her this more Anglicised name as they hoped Michelle's films would find a market in the USA. The first movie that she starred in was "The Owl vs. Dumbo" (1984). This was an action/comedy movie directed by Sammo Hung. At this point, Michelle's Cantonese was limited. Living in Malaysia, Michelle spoke some Chinese, but the dominant language was Hokkien.

From her first feature film, Michelle found her passion: action. She studied for up to 8 hours a day transforming dance and ballet movements into a form of martial arts. Whilst this film was a comedy, the soon-to-be-star found that comedy was not for her. While working for D&B Films, Michelle starred in other movies such as "Yes Madam!" with Cynthia Rothrock (on which she first performed all of her own stunts), "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars", "Royal Warriors", "Magnificent Warriors", and "Easy Money". While making "Magnificent Warriors" in 1988, Michelle was feeling the pressure of the shoot and an error in judgment led to the actress sustaining several injuries (a ruptured artery in her leg and a dislocated shoulder). After toning down the action and shooting "Easy Money", Michelle decided it was time to take a break from the camera. She left D&B and had intentions of retiring. In 1988, Michelle married the owner and producer of D&B Films, Dickson Poon. The marriage was short-lived. In 1992, after a divorce, she made a comeback to the world of cinema.

She starred in the high-profile adventure film "Police Story III", opposite Jackie Chan. Despite Yeoh's four-year absence from the business, her stunt skills were still as good as ever. She performed martial arts and her own stunts without any wirework. Soon thereafter, Michelle was signed to star in movies such as the new "Dragon Gate Inn", "The Heroic Trio", "The Executioners", "Holy Weapon", "Once a Cop", and "Wing Chun". Her commitments to all of these films were over the course of just a single year. In 1994, Michelle worked with the great Kung Fu master, Jet Li, in the movie "The Tai Chi Master". During this year, she also starred in "Butterfly" and "Sword" and "The Wonder 7". In 1995, John Woo approached Michelle to work with him in his "Once A Thief" TV series. Regrettably, Michelle's commitments meant that she was unable to sign up to the regular cast of the television series. In 1996, Yeoh changed tack and signed onto the cast of drama "Ah Kam", in which she plays a self-styled role of a stuntwoman.

Midway through the production of this movie, the script was altered after Michelle sustained serious injury - falling uncontrolled from an 18-foot height. After recovering, she took a co-starring role in the semi-biographical picture, "The Soong Sisters", in which she appeared with Maggie Cheung and Vivian Wu. The film was delayed due to its protracted shoot and the need to edit the enormous amount of footage captured in production. In 1997, Michelle was offered a break into the American world of Hollywood. She made her English-speaking debut in the James Bond flick, 'Tomorrow Never Dies' . She made a name for herself in Hollywood with the high-octane Bond adventure and earned roles in "Babylon A.D.", "Memoirs of a Geisha", "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". She is signed up to voice a character in the sequel to successful children's picture, "Kung Fu Panda" and rumoured to be taking on the title-role in a biopic of Aung San Suu Kyi.

1000+ images about Michelle Yeoh on Pinterest | Actresses, Police story and Action film Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Michelle Yeoh Best known in the Western world for her roles in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, playing Wai Lin, and the multiple Academy Award-winning Chinese-language martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she was nominated the BAFTA in 2000, for Best Actress. In 2008, the film critic website Rotten Tomatoes ranked her the greatest action heroine of all time. 54 Pins343 Followers Top 40 Countdown: The Hottest Bond Girls | Fandango Videos Top 40 Countdown: The Hottest Bond Girls Since his first big screen apearance in 1962, iconic superspy James Bond has always had three things close at hand: a martini (shaken, not stirred), cool gadgets and gorgeous women. SPECTRE , the 24th Bond film, is no exception with Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci.

So, although we like a good drink and spy toys, we're going to focus on the ladies with our gallery of the top 40 hottest Bond girls. Bond Assignment: Licence to Kill (1989) Key Data: Lowell, with her short-cropped hair and role as ex-pilot/CIA informer Pam Bouvier, is sort of the female, tomboy version of 007 pal Felix Leiter. Of course, it doesn't stop her from being a red-blooded, sexy American, who looks great in a sparkly, sleeveless dress, with a coif that only draws Bond's attention that much faster. 39. Sophie Marceau Bond Assignment: The World Is Not Enough (1999) Key Data: Since vying for Pierce Brosnan's affection with Denise Richards in 'The World Is Not Enough,' this French beauty has appeared only in French films. Previous to 'Enough,' she had made her mark in Hollywood as the love interest of Mel Gibson in 'Braveheart' and, umm, David Spade in 'Lost & Found.' 38.

Alison Doody Bond Assignment: A View to a Kill (1985) Key Data: Her film debut as Jenny Flex also garnered her the distinction of becoming the youngest Bond girl ever (19 at the time). A few years later, the striking blonde wooed the original Bond, Sean Connery, and Harrison Ford, as the ill-fated Elsa Schneider in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.' 37. Madeline Smith Bond Assignment: Live and Let Die (1973) Key Data: Jane Seymour's not the only memorable hottie in 'Live and Let Die.' Madeline Smith made an impression, too, as Bond's Italian contact. Back in the '70s, Smith kept making an impression as the star of several Hammer horror films, including 1970's 'Taste the Blood of Dracula.' 36. Rosamund Pike Bond Assignment: Die Another Day (2002) Key Data: Her last name's icy for a reason. But she also turns up the heat quite nicely in her catfight with Halle Berry.

Their age gap -- Frost is 12 years younger than Berry -- is the second largest between Bond girls in one film, trailing only 'A View to a Kill''s 18-year gap between Alison Doody and Grace Jones. 35. Diana Rigg Key Data: She was Bond's only wife, and we can see why he married her. A strong and spirited woman, she was extremely beautiful and looked exactly like Emma Peel from 'The Avengers,' sans the leather catsuit. 34. Shirley Eaton A.K.A.: Jill Masterson Bond Assignment: Goldfinger (1964) Key Data: Being nude and covered head to toe in gold paint probably wasn't as fun to experience as it was to look at (and it did lead to Eaton's character's death by suffocation). However, it was permanently etched into the memories of a whole generation of young men... and their sons... and their son's sons. 33. Maud Adams Bond Assignments: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and Octopussy (1983) Key Data: To this day, Maud Adams is the only person to play two different lead Bond girls in two Bond movies.

The Swedish beauty is captivating in both, and is ably backed by fellow Swedes Britt Ekland in 'Man' and Kristina Wayburn in 'Octopussy.' 32. Eunice Gayson Bond Assignments: Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963) Key Data: Although Ursula Andress is often credited as the first Bond girl, Gayson actually appears on-screen first, and returned in 'From Russia with Love.' Although we found her to be very hot, the producers decided to limit her role -- originally intended to be a regular character -- to the first two films. 31. Eva Green Bond Assignment: Casino Royale (2006) Key Data: Other than Tracy Bond, Eva Green's Vesper Lynd is Bond's only other true love. Green herself has a quirky, dark beauty (the actress has since appeared in '300: Rise of an Empire' and TV series 'Penny Dreadful' ), which naturally stands out to our hero and his fans. 30. Daniela Bianchi Bond Assignment: From Russia with Love (1963) Key Data: Bianchi's appeal didn't go unnoticed in the real world.

She was Miss Rome in 1960, and a runner-up for Miss Universe. Besides being a favorite Bond beauty in one of the best Bond films, she also starred four years later in a Bond spoof, 'Operation Kid Brother,' starring Sean's younger brother, Neil Connery. 29. Ivana Milicevic Bond Assignment: Casino Royale (2006) Key Data: She's not one of the two "featured" Bond girls in 'Casino Royale,' but Ivana Milicevic is still memorably hot as Valenka, the henchwoman tasked with carrying out baddie Le Chiffre's down and dirty deeds. Trivia tidbit: The Croatian beauty's younger brother is the lead guitarist in Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars. 28. Lois Chiles A.K.A.: Holly Goodhead Bond Assignment: Moonraker (1979) Key Data: This Texan is often unfairly regarded for her role in the goofy, Bond-goes-to-space flick 'Moonraker,' but if the girls are to be ranked on pure hotness, Chiles still rates a strong score. To us, she looks just fine in that yellow spacesuit. 27.

Luciana Paluzzi A.K.A.: Fiona Volpe Bond Assignment: Thunderball (1965) Key Data: The raven-haired Italian is the hottest villainess on two wheels. As SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe, Paluzzi has one of the most memorable death scenes, taking a spear in the back while dancing with 007. Connery's line to onlookers -- "Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead." 26. Honor Blackman A.K.A.: Pussy Galore Bond Assignment: Goldfinger (1964) Key Data: A favorite amongst Bondamaniacs, Blackman is one of the strongest Bond girls. She was also already well known from TV's 'The Avengers' (a mantle she would pass on to future Bond girl Diana Rigg). Besides her memorable introduction to 007, Blackman also has a great, rolling-around-in-the-hay fight scene with the superspy. 25.

Margaret Nolan A.K.A.: Dink Bond Assignment: Goldfinger (1964) Key Data: Another seemingly minor Bond girl character, Margaret Nolan deserves a closer look as Bond's highly attractive masseuse in 'Goldfinger.' Her Dink is one to remember. 24. Tanya Roberts Bond Assignment: A View To Kill (1985) Key Data: Tanya Roberts is appropriately sultry in 'A View to a Kill.' She's actually been a prominent fantasy girl for three decades, as one of 'Charlie's Angels' in the '70s, a caveman's dream woman in the '80s cult hit 'The Beastmaster,' and as Donna's mom on 'That '70s Show.' 23. Mie Hama Key Data: Hama also appeared in a 1967 nude 'Playboy' pictorial called "007's Oriental Eyefuls," which caused a bit of controversy at the time in her native country. 22. Izabella Scorupco A.K.A.: Natlya Simonova Bond Assignment: GoldenEye (1995) Key Data: Scorupco is the first Polish-born Bond beauty.

She also supposedly turned down the leads for both 'L.A. Confidential' and 'The Mask of Zorro,' before reteaming with 'GoldenEye'/'Zorro' director Martin Campbell for 2000's 'Vertical Limit.' 21. Cecilie Thomsen Bond Assignment: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Key Data: In 1997, we would have been willing to overlook the idea that Cecilie Thomson was 23 and a professor, as long as we could have sit in on all of her lectures. Back then, we would have also asked for free Bryan Adams tickets. The ingenue dated the musician for 12 years, until she gave him the heave-ho in 2002. 20. Aliza Gur Key Data: Richards as a nuclear physicist is even more unbelievable than 23-year-old Cecilie Thomsen as a professor. But we'd argue, too, does it make you watch her any less on-screen? Does it make her any less hot? 17.

Berenice Marlohe A.K.A.: Severine Bond Assignment: Skyfall (2012) Key Data: This femme fatale/antiheroine was pulled out of prostitution by the evil Raoul Silva and serves as his operative. Marlohe has said she was inspired by Famke Janssen's Xenia Onatopp. 16. Claudine Auger A.K.A.: Domino Derval Bond Assignment: Thunderball (1965) Key Data: The lead role of Bond girl Dominque "Domino" Derval was originally supposed to be an Italian, but producers were so taken with Auger that they changed it for the French beauty. Also considered for the role were Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch and Julie Christie. 15. Olga Kurylenko Bond Assignment: Quantum of Solace (2008) Key Data: For those who doubt Olga's hotness, go rent 'Paris je t'aime.' We're sure you'll find Kurylenko's vampiress just as fetching as we do. 14.

Teri Hatcher Bond Assignment: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Key Data: In between being the sexy star of 'Lois & Clark' and 'Desperate Housewives,' Teri Hatcher made her official Bond-girl deubt as Paris Carver. The actress is a lifelong hottie who heated up screens in the '80s as Sly Stallone's sister in 'Tango & Cash,' and Kevin Bacon's L.A. temptress in 'The Big Picture.' 13. Talisa Soto Bond Assignment: Licence to Kill (1989) Key Data: Talisa Soto is by no stretch of the imagination the next Meryl Streep, as evidenced by 'Licence to Kill.' But 'People,' 'Sports Illustrated' and 'Maxim' magazines all agree. What the Puerto Rican performer lacks in thespian chops she more than makes up for in beauty. Currently, she's still acting, and has two kids with husband Benjamin Bratt. 12. Kristina Wayborn A.K.A.: Magda Bond Assignment: Octopussy (1983) Key Data: They key moment for Wayborn comes after she enjoys some private time with 007...

she steals a jeweled egg, gives Bond a kiss while tying her robe to the balcony, backflips off of it, and twirls safely out of her clothing to the ground below. It's an amazing sequence, and all in a day's work for Miss Sweden/Scandinavia. 11. Carole Bouquet Bond Assignment: For Your Eyes Only (1981) Key Data: The most dangerous Bond girl with a crossbow, Bouquet's Havelock is a sexy combo of vulnerability and determination (her character's on a mission to avenge the murder of her parents). Bouquet turns in a well-rounded performance in a film that's more realistic than any of the '70s Bond output. 10. Martine Beswick Bond Assignment: From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965) Key Data: Martine Beswick's one of only two nonlead Bond girls to appear as different characters in two different Bond films. Besides her classic catfight with Aliza Gur in 'From Russia with Love,' Beswick also clawed it out with Raquel Welch in the infamous 'One Million Years B.C.' 9.

Famke Janssen A.K.A.: Xenia Onatopp Bond Assignment: GoldenEye (1995) Key Data: The Dutch actress and former model is widely known as the beautiful Jean Grey/Phoenix character in the 'X-Men' films, but we're still fans of Onatopp, a villainess who enjoys crushing her enemies between her strong thighs. 8. Jane Seymour Bond Assignment: Live and Let Die (1973) Key Data: Beautiful, sexy, or whatever other positive adjective you'd care to apply, the descriptions fit for Jane Seymour as Solitaire, or TV's 'Dr. Quinn,' or Elsie McKenna in 'Somewhere in Time,' or Serina in 'Battlestar Galactica.' Trivia tidbit: Radiohead recorded their acclaimed album 'OK, Computer' in her London home. 7.

Halle Berry Bond Assignment: Die Another Day (2002) Key Data: Halle costars with fellow Bond girl Famke Janssen as two of the key 'X-Men.' The Oscar winner is perfectly at home playing drama in 'Monster's Ball' (helmed by 'Quantum of Solace' director Marc Forster) or playing super sexy in 'Die Another Day,' where she pays homage to 'Dr. No''s Ursula Andress. 6. Barbara Bach Bond Assignment: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Key Data: Another hot favorite of Bond fans, the beautiful actress/model is no relation whatsoever to Catherine Bach, who was also making waves in the '70s as Daisy Duke on 'The Dukes of Hazzard.' She is related, though, to Ringo Starr, to whom she's been married since 1981. 5. Britt Ekland Bond Assignment: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Key Data: The Swedish model/actress is known for her offscreen adventures almost as much as her on-screen ones.

Ekland was married to Peter Sellers, had a longtime affair with Rod Stewart, and was an "avid fan" of Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes. In the 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,' she's played by Oscar winner Charlize Theron. 4. Caterina Murino Bond Assignment: Casino Royale (2006) Key Data: In contrast to Eva Green's more modest Bond girl look, Caterina Murino's sexy Solange is sort of the lusty eye candy that often doesn't last long in a Bond film. Hence, Solange's ultimate demise at the hands of her ruthless husband's cohorts. It doesn't stop her, though, from making an impression in her steamy scenes with Daniel Craig. 3. Caroline Munro Bond Assignment: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Key Data: Munro's place in the hot Bond girl firmament is set in two scenes: the first is the introduction of her character to 007 wearing the outfit pictured, and the second is her seductive wink to Bond as she's trying to gun him down from her helicopter. 2.

Maria Grazia Cucinotta Bond Assignment: The World Is Not Enough (1999) Key Data: It is a rare and extremely beautiful woman who can be welcomed as a Bond girl with simply the label "Cigar Girl." But so it is with this Italian actress, who made a splash as the object of love and desire in 'Il Postino,' and in her few moments here, makes one wish for a whole lot more. As the saying goes, there are no small parts, only small... wait, how does it go? 1. Ursula Andress Bond Assignment: Dr. No (1962) Key Data: The Bond girl that tops most lists is by far the hottest. From the very first Bond adventure, the template was set. Ursula Andress was the standard by which all followers had to be measured, and, in terms of pure beauty and sexiness, her Honey Ryder is still the sweetest Bond girl ever. We’ve got hundreds of James Bond movie clips! Check them all out here .

Question: In which 'James Bond' film did Michelle Yeoh play the part of 'Bond girl - Wai Lin'?
Answer: 'TOMORROW NEVER DIES'